OUR SHARED MEALS

"One of the ways that we gather together with others in our lives is around a shared meal. Sometimes those meals lead to indigestion and worse, as strained relationships and arguing about politics or life choices or whatever ruin whatever food is put before us. But there are so many wonderful memories we have...that are tied somehow to a gathering of people around a table...

"It is interesting that so many of Jesus' post-resurrection encounters with his disciples and friends happen over a shared meal...

"My wish and hope for you, in this season of resurrection and renewal, that you are able to find ways to safely gather around a table with loved ones, friends, and perhaps even new friends, and feel again the blessings of conversation and stories shared..."

Here is the complete reflection.

Rev. Leslie Schenck, pastor of Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison

Used with her permission

OUR CONGREGATIONS ARE SERVING IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WAYS!

The children of 1st Congregational UCC, Baraboo, have created a series of banners for their church each year since 2011. The themes range from God Loves to God Provides to God Frees. The theme for 2022 is God Promises. Here is a partial list of the banners.

1st UCC, Belleville, participated with a table in the community's Light Up the Darkness event.  Its purpose was to raise awareness and support for mental health and suicide prevention.

Picking up on their long-time relationship with Bright Stars of Bethlehem, Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, co-hosted a webinar, A Land with a People: Exploring Community Development through Palestinian and Jewish Voices and Visions, on September 27.

MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, alerted their members to the program, The Psychology of Christian Nationalism.  It was co-hosted by the Wisconsin Council of Churches.

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, offered their members free hearing screenings as a way to wrap up the year-long focus of their Accessibility Committee--having a better understanding of and welcoming the deaf and hard of hearing community

The new focus of the Accessibility Committee of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, will be addiction.  Through a series of programs, including speakers and book and movie discussions, the committee hopes members will better understand the disease.

The youth and adults of Salem UCC, Verona, did community service at Blue Mounts State Park--helping with their prairie maintenance.

MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, celebrated their 27th year of quilt making (131 this year alone!) for Lutheran World Relief.

McFarland UCC will have a Leadership Retreat on October 8.  Middleton Community UCC will have a Mindfulness Retreat on October 22, and they had their Balsams Family Retreat on the Weekend of September 23-25.

A Peace Table was set up in the narthex of 1st Congregational UCC, Baraboo, in support of the International Day of Peace.

And MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, had a blacksmithing demonstration from a former pastor as part of his work of transforming old weapons into life-giving gardening tools.

1st Congregational UCC, Janesville, had a COVID-delayed concert to celebrate their. 175th anniversary.  It featured the debut of a commissioned choral composition.

The gathering storm clouds meant that the volunteers planting the native plant garden at McFarland UCC had to work furiously 

1st UCC, Belleville, has once again provided sack lunches for the  homeless in Madison as a part of the Friends of the State Street Family.

Members of Lake Edge UCC, Madison, joined Julia Weaver in creating a stole for the church sanctuary cross.

Members of MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, enjoyed listening to Nostalgic Groove play after their worship.

The once-a-month series of Appreciative Inquiry visioning session continues at Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison. The October theme is, What do you value about yourself, about Orchard Ridge UCC and about the UCC?

Members of Zwingli UCC, Paoli,took a field trip to Holy Wisdom Monastery.

A member of Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, has begun leading members in a weekly Christian meditation prayer practice.

Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, recently had a discussion of abortion rights with representatives of Planned Parenthood and the Wisconsin Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

1st Congregational UCC, Janesville, recently had a Patchwork of Love At Show.

A member of Memorial UCC, Fitchburg is displaying her photographs taken around Madison and Up North in Wisconsin in the church

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, again has an art exhibit in their chapel, this time of photographs that document the recent renovation of their building, including installation of solar panels.

Lake Edge UCC, Madison, Zwingli UCC, Monticello and Middleton Community UCC had or will have blood drives.

Windsor UCC is inviting members to form circles of prayer to pray for our world, church, families and friends, problems and, most importantly, God's direction and His promises.

Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, will have their annual Halloween Carnival for UNICEF on Saturday, October 22.

The annual Madison Area CROP Walk will

be on Sunday, October 16. again beginning at 1st Congregational UCC, Madison. Registration is at 12:30 (one can register online at Crophungerwalk.org/MadisonWI), with the walk to begin at 1:00. You can walk in person or in spirit. Funds raised support Church World Service (75%) and local food pantries (25%).

Churches participating also include Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, Middleton Community UCC and Memorial UCC, Fitchburg.

1st Congregational UCC, Belleville, and Zwingli UCC, Paoli, will be participating in the Belleville CROP Walk. 1st Congregational UCC, Baraboo, will participate in the Baraboo CROP Walk. 1st Congregational UCC, Whitewater, will be be participating in the Whitewater CROP Walk.  Members of Middleton Community UCC are invited to participate in a Middleton alternative to the Madison Walk.

Zwingli UCC, Monticello, Immanuel UCC, Darlington, 

Middleton Community UCC and 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, will hold  Trunk or Treat events.

On October 2 Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, will provide their annual Safe Sanctuary training for those who volunteer with children and youth.

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, is offering Wednesday evening Action Mission Project (AMP) active learning opportunities for their children

During the first part of autumn, Middleton Community UCC is offering opportunities to learn about their mission partners--Horizon High School, Worker Justice Wisconsin, JustDane and Middleton Outreach Ministry

Middleton Community UCC will again provide meals to Healing House, which provides a safe place for homeless families to stay while a member recuperates following hospitalization.

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, honored their Director of Music Ministries, Don DeBruin for his 25 years of service to the church.  Don retired at the end of August.

Members of Edgerton Congregational UCC and the Evansville Congregational UCC are delivering Meals on Wheels.

Currently eight families are receiving rental assistance from Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, as a part of Heart Room support, enabling them to achieve stability.

In response to the explosion of growth in Verona, Salem UCC, Verona, is partnering with Sugar River Methodist Church in an effort to connect with their new neighbors.  They will be delivering bags of goodies to welcome them.

Rev. Zayna Thomley and the Board of Worship of Middleton Community UCC are inviting members to gather on an October Sunday to share their ideas for scripture and themes for their coming Advent worship.

PASTORAL NEWS

Rev. Sonja Ingebritsen has resigned as Interim Minister at 1st Congregational UCC, Platteville, effective October 2, as she has accepted a call to a church in a Philadelphia suburb.

INSTALLATION OF

REV. ZAYNA THOMLEY

The installation of Rev. Zayna Thomley as the pastor of Middleton Community UCC (645 Schewe Rd.) will be on Sunday, October 9, at 2:00.

Masks are optional for the in-person installation, unless otherwise recommended. The installation will also be live streamed at YouTube.com/Middleton.UCC.

Clergy are invited to wear red or rainbow stoles; robes are optional. As is customary, an offering will be taken for the Seminarian Scholarship Fund. In addition, attendees are invited to participate in a semi-annual offering of the church by bringing underwear, bras, socks and t-shirts to be donated to Middleton Outreach Ministry's clothing closet.

BRIGHT STARS OF BETHLEHEM

VIRTUAL FUNDRAISING GALA

Bright Stars of Bethlehem will hold a Virtual Fundraising Gala ---celebrating the next generation of creative leaders in Palestine--on Saturday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m..

The; event will celebrate the hope and creative resistance Palestinian students at Dar al-Kalima University have demonstrated throughout this year.

The event will include a raffle and sneak peeks into innovative initiatives of the University. Register here.

CREATION CARE RETREAT

OF WISCONSIN CONFERENCE

Congregations that are starting, or considering, a creation care ministry, should consider attending the Creation Care 10l1 Retreat at the Daycholah Center on Green Lake the first weekend in November.

Subtitled, Cross Polliination: Joining Hearts and Hands to Help Save the Earth, it will share ideas and provide support. Click here for more information and to register for the Friday-Saturday option and here for the extension to Sunday.

HELP FOR CHURCHES GOING SOLAR

A UCC webinar will help churches learn how federal funds can help them go solar.  The recently-enacted Inflation Reduction Act makes it possible for non-profit organizations, including churches, to receive reimbursement from the federal government equal to 30% of the cost of a solar-energy installation.  Register here.

DOG WHISTLE POLITICS

Dog Whistle Politics, a book by Ian Henry Lopez, tells how politicians use veiled racial appeals to win support. Our friends in the New York Conference invite us to virtual book study on Wednesdays, 5:30-7:00 p.m., October 12 to November 14.

Register here. Attendees are asked to read the preface and first two chapters before the first session.

CONVENOR OF RETIRED MINISTERS STILL BEING SOUGHT

The Association Division on Church and Ministry is seeking a volunteer to convene occasional gatherings of retired ministers from across the Southwest Association. There is no set expectation about frequency or type of gatherings, but is clear that some of our retired ministers would be grateful for the opportunity to visit with other retired colleagues.

CONGREGATIONS' BOOK STUDIES

Members of 1st Congregational UCC, Baraboo, are studying Grow Your Church, by Rev. Tracy Barnowe, to learn ways to increase its membership.

Members of Edgerton Congregational UCC will participate in a 12-week community study of The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron.

Driving Miss Norma, by Ramie Liddle and Tim Bauerschmidt, will be the book of Lake Edge Congregational UCC's Madison's group.

Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians, by Austen Harke, will be the book of Coffee & Conversation of Middleton Community UCC.

The Music of Bees, by Eileen Garvin, will be the book of the Women's Book Group of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison.  Java & Jesus of the church will discuss The Unofficial Handbook of the United Church of Christ, by Quinn G; Caldwell and Curtis J. Preston.

Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, will discuss The Overstory, by Richard Powers.

The Environmental Justice Group of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, will study Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

The Women's Book Study of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, will be discussing Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: the Search for a Planetary Intelligence, by James Bridle. The book is a searching exploration of different kinds of intelligence and how they transform our understanding of humans' place in the cosmos.

CONTACTS

Associate Conference Minister:  

Rev. Rachel Bauman

608-846-7880 (conference office)

Moderator: 

David Mickle

Vice-Moderator:

Rev. Tanya Sadagopan

Secretary:

Marlea Gilbert

Treasurer:

Donald Taft

Division on Church & Ministry: 

Rev. Ruth Bradshaw, Chair

Social Concerns Committee: 

Carolyn Kennedy, Chair

Shalom Editor:

Roger Brooks

swacommunications@gmail.com