Wisconsin Conference Life Newsletter
August 18, 2021
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Pandemic Required New Ways of Being Church |
You told us that hybrid worship is here to stay and that the pandemic revealed more food insecurity in your communities than previously imagined.
You handled vaccination hesitancy with a combination of compassion and firmness.
Most of all, the pandemic forced you to find fresh ways to be the Body of Christ in a wounded world.
Those were just a few of the takeaways from the survey sent to the Conference last month. All told, we received 31 responses, which provided some fresh insights into how COVID-19 has forced congregations to reimagine their ministries. Some specifics:
- Twenty-six respondents anticipated permanent changes to worship practices, with a virtual option being most common. Said one respondent: “We will now always have an online option for worship. We will no longer base our ‘attendance’ on the number of people attending church. We reach more people now, even if we never see them.”
- Just over half of respondents said their congregations had identified unmet social needs outside the walls of the church, with food insecurity a recurring theme, though hardly the only one. “We discovered that our sidewalk pantry which is available 24/7 has a much wider range of service than we previously thought,” one pastor wrote. “We also discovered that a homeless initiative in our community needed a petty cash fund to meet needs. Grace UCC now funds this. There are also racial justice issues in this community that have been overlooked for far too long. Mental Health continues to be an issue in our neighborhood and community.”
- Many respondents said vaccine hesitancy was a nonissue: Parishioners, particularly those in vulnerable populations, embraced the COVID-19 vaccine. Where vaccine hesitancy was a challenge, responses varied. One pastor said he dealt with resistance “By not being particularly nuanced or gentle about it. We have been pretty vocal that people should just get it, unless they have a health issue that prevents it. Not a lot of patience (which maybe isn't very charitable, but that's how it is) for the anti-vaccine crowd (and thankfully, very very few of those in this congregation—most people of all ages got their vaccines as soon as they were able to get them). Another pastor said the congregation responded “With compassion. We encourage vaccination and for people to talk to their trusted medical advisors. We do this as a, but not the only, sign of loving our neighbors. Still we have those who refuse to vaccinate. Our job is to love them and listen to them. We have hosted two vaccination clinics in the church.”
One pastor summarized the COVID-19 experience this way: “I've found this to be an exhausting, creative, Spirit-filled, draining time that continues to push us to corners we may not have otherwise explored.”
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In This Issue: scroll down to find these articles |
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The Big Read is Gaining Momentum! |
People in our congregations and in the wider community are talking about Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. We hope your congregation joins the conversation. Want to know more? Listen to what Jim Schleif, chaplain of United Church Camps Inc., says about the way Kimmerer’s book transformed his relationship to God’s Creation: |
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The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unexpected additional stress on pastors across the Wisconsin Conference. With that in mind, the Conference is offering one-time Clergy Renewal Grants designed to spur congregations to encourage their pastors to take some time away between now and the end of 2021. We are providing a modest financial incentive because we don’t want the cost of pulpit supply or other financial considerations to be a barrier. Time away from congregational life is important for clergy wellness and for the healthy functioning of pastors over the long term. We want to make it possible for clergy and congregations to take occasional breaks from one another.
Your congregation’s moderator or council/consistory president can apply on behalf of your pastor for a maximum grant of $1,000 for up to four weeks of renewal leave ($250 per week). The typical grant awarded will be in the range of $500. Grant funds can be used to cover pulpit supply for one to four weeks while your pastor is away or can be given as a gift for pastors to use in a way that will be rejuvenating to them as they take time away from the congregation to rest and renew their spirits.
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Looking for the Lay Academy? |
For more than 20 years, August was the month when registrations would start pouring in for the Wisconsin Conference Lay Academy. It was always an exciting time.
This year and onward, if you’re looking for the Lay Academy, however, you will not find it in the format we’ve become accustomed to. Now and going forward, we encourage you to turn to the Damascus Project for the same exciting content, faith-deepening learning, and inspiring peer relationships.
In January 2022, the core of what we have known of the Lay Academy will be presented by the Damascus Project as two learning tracks for lay people and Members in Discernment (MiDs).
Faith Foundations (formerly Lay Academy years 1 & 2)
The Faith Foundations track is a full year of learning (January to April and September to December). Topics covered include Introduction to Theological Learning, New Testament, Hebrew Bible, Christian Theology and Christian History
Leadership Skills (formerly Lay Academy year 3)
Leadership Skills is a series of weekend workshops designed to help you strengthen your leadership skills, grow in your identity as a leader and equip you with practical skills and tools for leading.
Registration, schedules, pricing and other information will be available on Sept. 7. Cohorts will begin in January 2022. Want to stay in the loop? Sign up for the Damascus Project email list to receive regular updates. If you have questions contact Tisha Brown. W e look forward to seeing you in 2022!
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Damascus Project Announces Exciting Lineup of Fall Opportunities |
Learn how to design effective meeting practices, nurture your creativity as a leader, or explore fresh perspectives on Advent texts with the Damascus fall learning opportunities.
"These programs are intended to enrich the ministries of local congregations," says the Rev. Abby Henderson, director of leadership development for the Minnesota Conference. "They are affordable and short-term, which makes them especially accessible."
The Damascus Project is a shared ministry of the Minnesota and Wisconsin conferences of the United Church of Christ to respond to a changing world and a changing church. The goal is to equip the whole Body of Christ by creating an open, nonjudgmental, brave learning community for:
- Laypeople (both leaders and seekers)
- Clergy (continuing ed)
- Church staff (faith formation, admins)
- Members-in-Discernment on non-seminary paths
The fall lineup includes:
- Heavenly Meetings: Processes to Foster Healthy Engagement
- Grit and Grace: Creativity, Spirituality, and Justice Work
- "Get Ready to Get Ready" Advent Prep Series
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Catalyst Grants Available Now |
Since 2016 the Catalyst Team of the Wisconsin Conference has provided grants totaling $142,480 to 62 congregations or Conference-related organizations. We celebrate the impact that these grants have had throughout the Conference to spark creativity, innovation and ministry experiments. Read about a few of them here.
And we know that we are just getting started! This fall, as folks continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage your UCC congregation to look for ways to try something innovative together with your local community. These initiatives are efforts arising from the grassroots and are action oriented. They represent the effort of a congregation to partner with, learn from or follow its neighbors into meaningful action to address community needs and/or injustices. These projects focus on making a congregation’s wider community more compassionate or more just for all God’s people.
If you have an idea for a project your congregation and community might experiment with together in the coming year, and where a financial grant of up to $5,000 can help bring it to life, consider applying for a Catalyst Grant.
Click here to go to the Catalyst Grants page for application instructions. The deadline to apply for a Catalyst Grant is Thursday, Sept. 30. Not sure your idea would fit? Reach out to Tisha Brown to share your idea and receive guidance on your application.
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Immigration Justice Update Zoom Workshop |
Would you like to learn more about how the immigration actions and policies of the Biden administration stack up against Joe Biden's ambitious and progressive immigration policy agenda, eight months into his first year as president? Have you been wondering how your congregation (or your community) could get more involved in immigration justice work, including sponsoring an asylum-seeking family, right here in Wisconsin? Join the Wisconsin Conference Immigration Working Group (IWG) for a Zoom workshop, "Immigration Justice Update," on Thursday, Sept. 30 from 6:30-8p.m. (Register now to hold your place!) Presenters will include Katie Adams, policy advocate for domestic issues in the UCC’s Washington, D.C., office, and IWG members who will share work being done on immigration justice in their congregations and/or communities.
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Immigration Justice Worship Liturgy |
The Wisconsin Conference Immigration Justice Working Group is creating a liturgy for worship that will focus on the plight of immigrants attempting to enter our country. The liturgy will be grounded in the biblical call to compassion, justice, and the “Extravagant Welcome” that is at the heart of the Gospel. The liturgy will be sent as an entire worship service for congregations interested in devoting a Sunday morning worship experience to this theme, but individual prayers, litanies, and songs, could be used by themselves as well.
The Conference Working Group hopes that congregations throughout Wisconsin will use this liturgy at a time that is convenient and appropriate for them. World Communion Sunday (Oct. 3) would be a wonderful choice. The liturgy, which will include a sermon created by members of the working group, will be available by mid-September.
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Moving from Lament to Hopefulness |
The Wisconsin Conference Supportive Ministries Team invites you to join a Tending the Soul Zoom event from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1, for a discussion called “Moving from Lament to Hopefulness.” The event, which builds on the success of the BE-coming Church virtual gatherings held in June, will provide an opportunity to talk through our shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic as we begin to regather.
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The United Church of Christ is issuing a call to action to help the people of Haiti. A massive 7.2 earthquake on Saturday killed nearly 1,300 people. Search and rescue efforts are expected to be hampered by Tropical Depression Grace, which came ashore on Monday. Read more about the appeal here.
To donate to this appeal, use this link and designate the gift to “Haiti Appeal.” You can also mail a check payable to the United Church of Christ to 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115. Please be sure to note “Haiti Appeal” on your check in the memo section, or in an attached letter. |
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Conference Plans Work Trip to Back Bay Mission
Feb. 27 – March 5 – Biloxi, Mississippi
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Are you interested in a weeklong mission trip to serve at one of our beloved UCC partners through the Council for Health and Human Services Ministries? Conference Minister Franz Rigert will lead a delegation of up to 20 to join in the ministry of Back Bay Mission – strengthening neighborhoods, seeking justice and transforming lives. Among its many initiatives, Back Bay Mission meets urgent and essential needs in the wider Biloxi community, working alongside those in the journey out of poverty.
During our time on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we will have the opportunity to serve in three of the Mission’s ministries: housing rehabilitation, the food pantry, and the Micah Day Center. Here is the link to the Back Bay Mission website. You can also learn more about Back Bay Mission in this video.
Participants will pay a $250 donation to cover costs of materials and lodging, and as a contribution to the mission. Additional costs include travel and meal expenses (we will share in preparing meals).
Please email Franz Rigert with questions or to express interest.
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Former President of Northland College, the Rev. Robert Parsonage, Dies |
The Rev. Robert Parsonage, a former president of Northland College in Ashland, died July 31 at his home in Cable. He was 83. Parsonage served as president of the college from 1987 to 2002.
Born in Minneapolis, Parsonage was educated at Carlton College, the Pacific School of Religion, Harvard Divinity School and Hartford Seminary. Before going to work at Northland, Parsonage had a distinguished career in academia and with the National Council of Churches. He was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement and joined fellow faculty members and students at Springfield College in Massachusetts in traveling south to work for social justice.
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Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar Starting Soon |
Can fundraising be ministry? Can stewardship be spiritual? The Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar this fall offers an opportunity for pastors and lay leaders to explore faithful, practical, and tested ways to promote generosity in our congregations. We will draw on current research, seek guidance from the wisdom of scripture, and discuss the best practices in church-based fundraising. Pastors and leaders participating in this program will be equipped to lead an effective stewardship campaign and, more broadly, help their congregations reclaim generosity as a spiritual practice. The seminar meetings will be held on Tuesdays – Sept. 21, Oct. 5 and 19, and Nov. 2, 16, and 30. Seminars run from 5:30p.m. to 7:00p.m. Central time. There will be readings, videos, and reflections to complete between seminar meetings. The program costs $300 for a team of two leaders (additional participants $150 each). Learn more and register by Sept. 14
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Restoring Right Relationship with Mother Earth |
The Alliance for Justice/Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ in partnership with the Ho-Chunk Nation and United Church Camps Inc. has a truly special event in the works.
Restoring Right Relationship with Mother Earth is a four-day immersion experience taking place Oct. 7-10 at Pilgrim Center. Attendees can explore how local churches will faithfully respond to calls for justice from Wisconsin’s Native American communities, care for creation, and work together for racial equity.
The program highlight will be a virtual keynote talk by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, botanist, and author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. Robin will speak on “What the Earth Asks of Us?”
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Transitional Ministry Training |
Churches throughout our state are experiencing transitions in modes of ministry, in congregational demographics, and in clergy leadership. The Interim Ministry Training Institute makes the techniques and tools of transitional leadership available for clergy, both settled and ready to be intentionally interim. The class meets over Zoom once a month for eight months with reading materials and application exercises, lecture, discussion, video and small group work to bring the information directly to the settings and concerns of the students. The first class is Oct. 14. Cost is $995, payable in full or in two or more installments. Registration is preferred by Sept. 16, but flexibility and adaptability are key skills in ministry and in life.
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The General Fund of the Wisconsin Conference helps us connect, support, and resource pastors, leaders, and congregations. Your gift allows the Conference to provide relevant and timely help during the pandemic and beyond. Donate to the General Fund
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Searching Churches
- Community UCC in Medford is searching for a pastor. Details
New Calls
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Rev. John B. Cofield has been called as pastor at St Paul's UCC in Marshfield and at the United Church of Christ in Pittsville, effective July 18.
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Rev. Laura Hawkins has been called as interim pastor at Community UCC in Elkhart Lake, effective Aug. 2.
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Rev. Jeannie Douglas has been called as interim pastor at Immanuel UCC in Plymouth, effective Aug. 8.
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Rev. Lois Buchholz has been called as pastor at Mukwonago United Church of Christ in Mukwonago, effective Aug. 9.
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Rev. Christine Mandas has been called as senior pastor at UCC Congregational in Delavan, effective Aug. 15.
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Rev. Dr. Shawn Stapleton has been called as pastor at Congregational UCC in Brodhead, effective Aug. 15.
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Rev. Dr. Thomas Robinson has been called as interim pastor at Salem UCC in Verona, effective Aug. 16.
Installations and Ordinations
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Rev. Bryan Simon was installed at First Congregational UCC in Tomah on Aug. 15.
In Memoriam
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Rev. Stephen Evans died on July 26. Obituary
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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The Kairos Call to Action Newsletter was created to support the efforts of congregations, families and individuals who want to be a part of the UCC’s Kairos Call to Action. Through this newsletter the Conference Creation Care Team will provide resources for study and worship, encourage advocacy on behalf of climate justice, and help congregations find and connect with partners who share this common concern and commitment.
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Tending the Soul of the Beloved Community is a monthly communication dedicated to sharing resources and tools, wisdom and insight for congregations and individuals navigating these challenging days. Created by the Conference Supportive Ministries Team, this publication will highlight resources to aid in steering your path forward.
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Join the Conference-wide Creation Care Team!
Are you passionate about Creation Care? Want to connect with others who are taking action to care for the earth? The Creation Care Team's primary focus is to encourage, support and provide resources to congregations in the Wisconsin Conference as they do what they can to care for creation. If you would like to be a part of this team, or for more information on the Creation Care Team, contact John Helt. You can also go to the Creation Care webpage to learn more.
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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.
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Get Involved! 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. Contact Lisa Hart get involved.
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This newsletter is made possible by contributions to Our Church's Wider Mission Basic Support.
Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ
4459 Gray Road | DeForest, WI 53532
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