Shalom June 2020

Shalom

JUNE 2020

Another Heads Up from your Editor: If you find that your copy of this Shalom does not have a complete 2nd column (which should include links, e.g. to the Conference) and does not have a "Message clipped" option at the bottom, please email me so that I can know the extent of a problem some are having

There are lots and lots of appropriate, timely and thoughtful messages that pastors and others are sharing in their newsletters in this difficult and anxious time of enforced quarantine. Here is one thought offered in the newsletter of the Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison;

Words of Comfort and Joy

In all the uncertainty, fear and helplessness that surrounds us today, here’s where I am:

I am able to listen to the birds in the morning and at sunset, and to give them good clean food and water.

I am able to watch the families walk by my house as they get a break from being home bound and too on top of each other.

I am able to connect with my children daily and to thank God that I am here close to them in the midst of this pandemic.

I am able to laugh at the silliness on the internet and on T.V.....Shows that try mightily to lighten our mood.

I am able to walk my dogs in a huge off leash dog park where I can watch them suddenly break into a jog then throw themselves on the ground rubbing their backs in ecstasy.

I am able to NOT look at the latest in stock market reports.

I can feed myself and my dogs. I won’t worry about the rest.

I am able to connect with friends by e-mail and be encouraged by their strength in facing this struggle.

I am able to read good books, do jigsaw puzzles, read new poetry and to plan for a new day tomorrow.

I am thankful for my faith in God that gives me hope that we can fix this. I am able to pray and to sleep and to watch as Spring sends up new green shoots reminding me that life does renew itself, and we can grow, even in this.

Jeanne Moberly, a member of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison

Our Congregations Find Creative Ways

to Respond to the COVID-19 Crisis

Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, shares with those passing by the gratitude of their congregation for all the heroes helping out in this coronavirus crisis.

In this time of being expected to stay at home , Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, has invited its members to share pictures of themselves and their shelters, which were used as a part of their May 10 worship. !st Congregational UCC, Madison, is inviting its members to share photos that will be shared in its weekly newsletter. Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, will share pictures submitted by members on the theme of the care of Creation in their June worship.

A member of Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, is also encouraging her fellow members to do daily journaling, with prompts from some of the most inspiring writers, artists, musicians and unsung heroes she knows.

A member of McFarland UCC, has invited their church members to create a heart and a share a picture of a person reaching to get that heart, related to their church's motto, "a church with heart."

Rev. Karsten Sniktker, of the UCC ;Ministry Co-op of Southwest Wisconsin (including 1st Congregational UCC, Platteville) lifted up how a line of the hymn, "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You," ("hearts unfold like flowers before you"), describes the joy that humans and the rest of Creation feel while in the presence of God.

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, is another congregation that is encouraging their members to be creative. They are challenging their members to fold 1000 paper cranes that will be lifted up in a worship when, at last, the congregation gathers in their sanctuary once again..

Pointing out that May was Mental Health Awareness Month, 1st UCC, Belleville, posted a link on their website to resources for those who are struggling with mental health issues.

Rev. Mark Yurs, of Salem UCC, Verona, pointed out in a recent sermon on Peter's divine deliverance from prison (Acts 12:1-11) that it is a case study to imagine how God will work release for us today from the conditions of our COVID-caused confinement--offering both the miraculous (which is in the hand of God) and the mundane (which is in our hands)

MCC/ Community of Hope UCC is another congregation that is involved in making masks (see separate article about 1st Congregational UCC's Prison Ministry Project). They contributed several hundred masks to several organizations, such as Oakwood Village, as well as to the members and friends of their own church.

Some congregations are having a blessing of face masks in their worship services, e.g. 1st UCC, Belleville, and Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison.

Many of our congregations are offering variations of "meditative prayer services" ( Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison): Evansville Congregational UCC (two meditative times each week); 1st UCC, Belleville; McFarland UCC (a daily devotional time) and weekly "inhale spiritual practices"; Memorial UCC, Fitchburg UCC (contemplative prayer); Middleton Community UCC (mindfulness group); and MCC/ Community of Hope UCC (mid-week evening prayer and a meditative service sponsored by the UCC's Open & Affirming Coalition).

Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, is encouraging its members to create prayer stations with sunflower seeds in which they write down the losses they are experiencing during the pandemic. The seeds are to remind them of the hope they contain.

Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, is looking for volunteers to tend their Veggie Village Food Pantry Garden. The end result is delivering food to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Food Pantry.

Olivet Congregational UCC, Columbus, is continuing to participate in their community garden, which includes sharing their produce with their local food pantry.

1st UCC, Belleville, partners with area churches and the Belleville School District to assist families in need of extra support at this time because of the increased need

The Madison Christian Community (incl. Community of Hope UCC) has had to find a way to tweak its usual way of honoring its graduating high school seniors. Messages by members will be placed in twelve (not the customary one) donated ceramic vessels to be given to the graduates

Members of Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, were invited to contribute to a virtual concert on May 4 to mark 40 days of Safer at Home.

The women of Salem UCC, Verona, have been invited to a book discussion group called Women Who Wildly Wonder. They will begin by having virtual discussions this summer of Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetypes, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

The Men's Fellowship of the church, being small enough, had an in-person meeting on the church grounds.

Weather permitting, Swiss UCC, New Glarus, will hold its June discussions of the book, To Heaven and Back, by Mary C. Neal, on their church lawn.

Groups of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison (Friendship Circle, Bible Study, Knitting Group), are also finding it possible to meet on their church lawn or in their parking lot

Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, is another congregation that will be reading Because We Are All Forever Earthbound: Stories for Building a Better Planet, by Chuck Tennessen, as encouraged by our Conference..

The Women's Book Group of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, had a telephone conference call discussion of The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard.

At their June meeting they discussed Quiet, by Susan Cain, a non-fiction book about introverts, viewed both historically and currently.

The summer Women's Book Study of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, will be Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, about her family's decision to produce most of their own food.

1st Congregational UCC, Platteville, had a video series, Love Is My Religion, during May.

A benevolence fund of Middleton Community UCC offers financial support to the members of friends of the church through the difficult time of job loss and mounting financial insecurity.

Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, is responding in a variety of ways to the immediate needs of the pandemic, including increasing their eviction-prevention efforts through neighborhood agencies and helping families obtain long-term housing (see the quote from their church below).

Middleton Community UCC is continuing its online Time for Children on Wednesdays, with each session different.

The Congregational UCC, Evansville is providing office space for Building a Safer Evansville (BASE). BASE works with Evansville's LGBTQ+ population.

Middleton Community UCC will provide its young people with summer learning opportunities, beginning with Summer Servants for 5th-8th graders.

Many of our congregations are encouraging their members to wear red during their virtual services on Pentecost Sunday, May 31.

Following their drive-in worship in their parking lot on May 31, members of Zwingli UCC, Monticello, will be having a "Pentecostt Parade," driving through downtown Monticello with their cars decorated with Pentecost symbols, their horns blaring and their occupants shouting, "Happy Birthday to the Church!"

Zwingli UCC, Paoli, is another congregation that will have a drive-in worship service, on June 7.

A member of Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, Barb Lewis, received the UW-Madison's Chancellor's Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work as the Director of its Urology Simulation Education Program..

Our Christian Witness

in the Time of the Plague

"Plague in the Bible is not a storm weathered before a return to normalcy. It's a call to come together in new ways in order to survive, hold the powerful responsible for their unjust policies and the lies they've told to cover up injustice, and rebuild on foundations of love and justice."

--Liz Theoharis,

Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison

Opportunities Regarding the Death

of Ahmaud Arbery

On Sunday, May 31, 5:00 p.m. CDT, the United Church of Christ invites us to a live viewing of Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr's, cinematic sermon preached at Trinity UCC, Chicago, on May 17, The Cross and the Lynching Tree: A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery.

Immediately following the video, a panel discussion will discuss the impact of historical and present-day acts of racism and violence toward African Americans and how the Church can be actively involved in dismantling racism.

In addition, on Tuesday,June 2, 7:00 p.m., we are invited to a live interfaith Facebook service. It will be accessible on the Wiscosnsin Faith Voices for Justice Facebook page.

Conference Annual

Meeting Will be Virtual

A Conference-wide online Zoom meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, from 8;45 to noon, for the purpose of abbreviated worship; programming on the theme, "Healing Our Earthly Home"; and conducting Conference business. We will need to register online, but there will be no cost. Register here .

For those who have already registered, the Conference will gladly reimburse your registration fee. Or you may prefer to consider offering it either as a gift to the Conference Coronavirus Emergency Fund or the annual Strengthen the Church Offering.

In keeping with the theme, many of the inspirational and educational opportunities already planned will take place between June 4 and 7. All this will be offered online and will be available to anyone is the Conference.

Featured speakers and events will include Tia Nelson, daughter of Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day; and Jim Antal, author of Climate Church, Climate World. Events will include Creation Care and other workshops.

If you have made a deposit on lodging/meals at the Green Lake Conference Center, you may email guestservices@glcc.org to let them know that you prefer to cancel the reservation (and receive a refund) or transfer it to next year's Annual Meeting. Reservations will automatically be transferred to next year unless you contact them.

Out-of-Office Hours

of Our Association Minister

While there will be no general Out-of-Office Hours for Rev. Lorraine Cineceros in June, she will offer these for clergy:

SWA Clergy Support Check-In

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Jun 4, 10:00

Jun 11, 10:00

Jun 18, 10:00

Jun 25, 10:00

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89514088661?pwd=VDR0MHV5NXZJVkZBclhSUE9xNFlFdz09

Meeting ID: 895 1408 8661

Password: 428356

Support for SWA Authorized Ministers Serving in Alternative Ministries

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Jun 13, 11:00

Jun 20, 11:00

Jun 27, 11:00

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/344515600?pwd=cU1yc3R3U01aVFc0WTA1dWdpYzVBQT09

ACM Office Hours

01:00 PM – 2:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Jun 10, 1:00

Jun 24, 1:00

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89309919615?pwd=KzBjRVMvTXNITWhKYW9KRnVPZVprQT09

Meeting ID: 893 0991 9615

Password: 075220

Transitions

Thomas Wineke, 69, the brother of Rev. Bill Wineke, died April 30 at the Madison Veterans Administration Hospital after battling several forms of cancer for many years. Here is an obituary.

Prison Ministry's

Mask-Making Project

The Prison Ministry project of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, is joining with the men in prison at Fox Lake Correctional Institution to make masks for the residents and staff of the prison, persons who are, of course, at exceptionally high risk during the pandemic.

The donation of sewing machines along with fabric and elastic from the church, along with other congregations and groups, including the American Players Theater in Spring Green, means that the men have been able to make more than 10,000 masks at last count.

Wearing a mask is not only positive protection, but a positive activity that gives both the men and the staff a sense of being proactive in their community.

Rev. Jerry Hancock is the Director of the Prison Ministry Project.

Visioning Exercise for a Congregation

Since visioning the future of our congregations lies at the heart of the June all-church Strengthen the Church Offering, a useful tool provided by our national United Church of Christ can be found here.

Rev. Andrew Warner of the Conference staff points out that while this tool was originally conceived as an exercise for an in-person church gathering, the questions can be easily adapted to a virtual meeting and related the current coronavius pandemic.

Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar

This summer Rev. Andrew Warner and Andy DeBraber, who works with the national UCC, will be leading the Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar as part of the Damascus Project. Congregational teams of 2-4 persons are encouraged to sign up. Space will be limited.

Another stewardship resource is the Extravagant Generosity video, which can be accessed here.

Conference Webinar

on the Climate Crisis

Brooks Berndt, our climate expert in the national United Church of Christ, will have a webinar, "Moving from Crisis to Hope: Responding to the Kairos Call to Climate Action, on June 11 at 7:00 p.m.

In it he will explain why he wrote Cathedral on Fire!: A Church Handbook for the Climate Crisis. It will kick off a conference-wide book read to help congregations get started on the Kairos Call to Action.