Shalom March 2023 issue

Shalom

MARCH 2023

A THOUGHT FOR LENT

Rev. David McDonald, after his installation as the settled pastor of the Congregational UCC, Whitewater, suggested to his congregation that they use the Lenten season to reflect on what their church's ministry can be, adding that "it's tempting to have a longing for what we had been and done; the glory days of large, mainline Protestant churches playing a critical part of the social fabric in a community...

"To earn respect, (a church) must be able to provide a voice that will rise above the noise of media...and provide compelling opportunities to love and serve... In the past several weeks, intentional efforts at establishing connections with the community have been ongoing...(and) we have made clear that this church is here to stay and wants to be committed, active participant in what the community is doing

"I encourage you, as we journey towards Lent, to look within at what we have done, what we can do, what we might try and how we are prepared to succeed (as well as fail) in doing to stabilize and strengthen our church, unbuilding it so a bright and real future can be found." Read his complete remarks here..

Used with his permission

CONGREGATIONS OBSERVE LENT

At least three of our congregations--1st UCC, Belleville, Memorial UCC, Fitchburg and 1st Congregational UCC, Madison--are using resources from A Sanctified Art with the theme, Seeking: Honest Questions for Deeper Faith. They will reflect on stories of Jesus encountering people who are seeking, including Nicodemus, Mary and Martha and the Samaritan woman at a well, and how they illuminate our own seeking, such as how to live as a disciple and when the relevancy of our faith is challenged.

1st Congregational UCC, Janesville, and Middleton Community UCC are remembering how Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life and the importance of bread in Jesus' time as they use for their Lenten worship the theme, Let Love Rise.

The Virtues of Radical Hospitality will be the theme of the Lenten services of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison.

The Wednesday evening worship services of Washington Reformation UCC, Monticello, will feature the parables of Jesus.

MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, will look at the transition point between death and new life, that is, what must die in order for something to be born?

Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, also had a Party Gras! with pizza, games and dancing and a worship service to celebrate Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday on February 21.

St. John's UCC, Monroe, marked the occasion by serving fastnachts (similar to doughnuts).

The Lenten worship theme and book study of Edgerton Congregational UCC will be 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life, by Cami Walker.

The adult education of 1st UCC, Belleville, will discuss Entering the Passion of Jesus: A beginner's Guide to Holy Week, by Amy-Jill Levine.

On the Wednesday nights in Columbus, Olivet UCC will join with other churches in their ecumenical Lenten services.

The youth of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, will have a retreat on the Lenten theme of seeking.

Salem UCC, Verona, is hosting a five-week photo exhibit, Nothing to Hide: Mental Illness in the Family, and program to reduce stigma and raise awareness surrounding mental health concerns in our communities. As part of a weekly speaker series, there will be a special event for youth and their parents on March 12. Go to their web site and click on More if you want more details.

Middleton Community UCC is recognizing anti-bullying month by encouraging the knitting or crocheting of blue hats, representing awareness, peace and solidarity.

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, is recognizing the many artists in their congregation by having an art exhibit by two of them in their chapel through April.

The art wall of MCC/ Community of Hope UCC, Madison, will now feature the photography of a member, whose camera is a key to unlocking "the immeasurable miraculous, entangled awesome universe."

As a way to reflect on the suffering caused by such things as gun violence, hate crimes and the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, a member of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, has created a stole for the pastors, Jesus Wept.

A member of Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, reflected on how she recently drove an asylum-seeking woman to an immigration court in Chicago, only to discover on arriving that the judge had just canceled the woman's hearing! So the woman's worry was aroused all over again. That prompted the congregation to raise funds for attorneys fees for such persons.

Members of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, were recently invited to sign welcome cards for newly-arrived asylum seekers

Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, recently celebrated ten years of being a host church for the ecumenical Good Neighbors Personal Essentials Pantry. They provide such things as laundry detergent, diapers and feminine products.

Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, supports such a pantry as well.

The Congregational UCC, Evansville, provides feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouth wash for the Evansville Care Closet.

1st Congregational UCC, Baraboo, provides diapers for their pantry.

The middle school youth of Middleton Community UCC built bluebird houses for the church's fields.

Members of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, were invited to regularly visit a member who is being treated aggressively for acute myeloid leukemia.

1st Congregational UCC, Madison, recently added a portable T-coil so that persons in their chapel or dining room, as well as in the sanctuary, can benefit from that assistive listening system.

Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, will have a event to help adults understand the different meanings that communion may have. It will include the baking of bread a video and supper..

Lake Edge UCC/Alliance @ 4200 will provide a homemade meal for Healing House in March.

Members off 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, were invited to provide snack packs for the unhoused persons assisted by Friends of State Street..

Volunteers of Middleton Community UCC shelled and bagged 400 popcorn packets for the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens.

Because winter conditions sometimes make walking outside difficult and dangerous, St. John's UCC, Monroe, will have their regular walking activities in the church.

PASTORAL TRANSITIONS

Rev. Philip D. Hobson was called as the settled pastor of Salem UCC, Verona. He will begin in June.

Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church (in joint ministry with Lake Edge UCC, Madison) installed Al George as its Associate Pastor on February 5.

REFLECTIONS ON THE

TURKEY/SYRIA EARTHQUAKE

Rev. Bill Wineke, pastor of the Congregational UCC, Evansville, recently wrote a thoughtful piece on the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. An Act of God, as is frequently claimed? Or an occasion to reflect on other tragedies? Read his full reflection here.

WHITE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM STUDY

Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, will host an eight-week hybrid study on the challenges posed by white christian nationalism, The Seven Deadly Sins of White christian Nationalism. It will be on Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00, February 28 through April 18. It will be facilitated by Rev. Dr. David Anderman, a member of the church.

Participants may attend in person or by Zoom. To receive the Zoom link email ddavea@,mac.com

THE COLOR OF COMPROMISE--

A RACIAL JUSTICE VIDEO SERIES

McFarland UCC will host a series of videos and discussions on racial justice, The Color of Compromise, on Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00 p.m. February 28, March 7 and March 14. It will explore how some people of faith have worked against racial justice by creating and maintaining racist practices and ideas.

One can participate in person or on Zoom. To sign up. email the church at office@mcfarlanducc.org and include "The Color of Compromise" in the subject line.

WISCONSIN INTERFAITH

DAY OF ADVOCACY

The annual Interfaith Day of Advocacy will be held on March 21, 9:30-2:00, it will begin at First United Methodist Church (203 Wisconsin Ave.) and move to the state capitol after lunch. Focusing on climate, water and hunger issues, the speaker will include Bob Lindmeier, the chief meteorologist of WKOW-TV. Sponsors include the Wisconsin Council of Churches.

You can register by using this link.

DEMOCRACY IN PERIL--

A MILWAUKEE SERIES

For their annual Tuesdays in March series (11:30-1:00),. The Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee's Peace and International Issues Committee will feature lectures on Democracy in Peril. The series is held at the First Unitarian Society in downtown Milwaukee. Check their web site for virtual participation.

SAVE THE DATE

RETIRED CLERGY MEETING

On March 14, 2:00-4:00, retired clergy of the Southwest Association will have a Meet and Greet with our Associate Conference Minister, Rev. Rachel Bauman. The location is to be announced later.

WANT AD: DIRECTOR OF

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

1st Congregational UCC, Janesville, is seeking a Director of Christian Education. Here are the details.

SAVE THE DATE:

SOUTHWEST ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL MEETING

(NOTE CORRECTION)

Saturday, May 6, 9:00--1:00, at 1st Congregational UCC, Janesville.

CREATION JUSTICE SERIES

The Wisconsin Conference newsletter alerts us to a Creation Justice zoom gathering series on environmental issues that relate to Wisconsin. The next is:

Mining Pollutants, March 9, 7:00; register here.

UCC WEBINAR:

LEAKY STOVES AND DEADLY GASES

The next UCC Webinar will be on March 8, 12:00, on the current discussion of stoves. It will seek to put this "heated debate" in its proper ethical context in terms of environmental justice, public health and concerns about methane pollution. Register here.

THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER

We are invited to join in a free community online screening of the movie, The Ants and the Grasshopper, on Wednesday, March 1, 7:00-8:30.

The film documents how a woman from Malawi seeks to persuade people in the U.S. that climate change is real. Register here..

CONGREGATIONS DISCUSS

BOOKS AND MOVIES

The Coffee and Conversation of Middleton Community UCC discussed Dancing in the Darkness, by Otis Moss III

Lake Edge UCC/Alliance @ 4200 will discuss The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson.

When Women Were Dragons, by Kelly Barnhill, the Women's Book Study of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, tells of a time when thousands of women spontaneously transformed into dragons.

Java & Jesus of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, discussed American Gospel--God, the Founding Fathers and the Making of a Nation, by Jon Meacham.

The Book Group of Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, will discuss Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, by Tori Jensen..

In honor of Black History Month, the Exploring Race Book Group of 1st UCC, Belleville, will watch the movie, 42, about the life of Jackie Robinson.

Guts, an honest, brave and funny memoir of a woman who dealt with drug and alcohol abuse, will be the focus of the Accessibility Book Study of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison.

MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, watched the screening debut of Seeking Asylum, about one mother's journey in search of safety.

Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, called attention to a book signing of Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers, by Ruth Conniff (former editor of The Progressive magazine, and a Madison resident), which will be on March 3.

The book discussion of MCC/Community of Hope UCC, Madison, will be Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S., by Lenny Duncan.

The movie group of Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, that meets at Oakwood Village will watch Mudbound, which is set in the rural American South during World War II.

In February members of 1st Congregational UCC, Madison, were offered a Zoom movie night on Heroin(e).