| August 1, 2010 Volume 2: Edition 7 |
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Celebrating a Founder
by David Moyer, Wisconsin Conference Minister
In 1840 Pastor Louis Eduard Nollau wrote a letter to colleagues who were serving German immigrants in the St. Louis area, inviting them to a meeting that would form a fellowship that would allow them to support one another in their ministry on what was the western frontier of European expansion into North America. The Kirchenverein des Westens (Church Society of the West) eventually became the Evangelical Synod of North America, one of the traditions that today is the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Moyer and the Bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin Brandenburg Oberlausitz, Dr. Martin Droege lead the recessional after worship
Photo provided by Wolfgang Dzieran  | In 2010 a delegation including persons from the Wisconsin Conference journeyed to Reichenbach, Germany to celebrate Louis Eduard Nollau's 200th birthday and to honor the gifts of immigrants to the formation of the United Church of Christ. Reichenbach is a village in the church district near Görlitz where the Wisconsin Conference has long had an international ecumenical partnership. Today the Görlitz region is part of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg Oberlausitz. Our ecumenical partners were delighted to discover Nollau's significance and went all out to plan a four-day celebration.
The events included a full day seminar on immigration, not only German immigration in the 19th century but immigration patterns today. It also featured an exploration of Nollau's impact on pastoral ministry and the church's diaconal work. Two speakers at the seminar were part of our UCC delegation, including Dr. Marti Baumer whose ministerial standing is in our Wisconsin Conference and who is retired from teaching at Eden Seminary. Marti Baumer described Nollau's sense of ministry as a "call" and not a "job", as he repeatedly had to adjust his own personal goals in response to God's call. Originally coming to North America to go to the Pacific Northwest to serve among Native American tribes, Nollau also went to South Africa for missionary work, but he most powerfully felt the call to minister among his fellow immigrants in St. Louis. |
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Recent Ordination
Craig Jan-McMahon is Ordained as a United Church of Christ Minister |
Rev. Craig Jan-McMahon was recognized and authorized on July 18 at Swiss UCC, New Glarus, as an ordained minister by the Southwest Association of the Wisconsin Conference in the United Church of Christ by the laying of the hands ceremony. Rev Jan-McMahon serves as the pastor of Swiss UCC. Send him an email or mail him your gratulations to Swiss UCC PO Box 97 18 Fifth Ave New Glarus, WI 53574-009. |
Fairhaven - a ministry of God's love
Fairhaven Senior Services of Whitewater, WI, provides Independent Apartments, Supportive Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing Care, and Rehabilitation Services. Fairhaven's mission is "to be a visible ministry of God's love to older men and women." To further the mission, Prairie Village, a community of 2- bedroom homes was developed for 55+ seniors. Fairhaven provides the maintenance of the homes and grounds and residents have access to all of our programming and amenities. Residents of Prairie Village agree that the connection with the ministry of Fairhaven is what sets their community apart from any other. They feel security in knowing that Fairhaven will be there for them.  Recently one of the residents of Prairie Village spoke to the Fairhaven Board of Directors. She and her husband had moved to Prairie Village acknowledging that they would some day be in need of more services as the husband's Parkinson's Disease was progressing and would eventually prevent him from doing many of the activities of daily living. After two years they came to the realization that she could no longer provide the level of care that he needed. The decision for him to move to Fairhaven was not difficult. As she said "Fairhaven's caring staff works as a Team." Within an hour of her request for help, her husband had been moved to Fairhaven for additional support. She was able to remain in their Prairie Village home with confidence that her husband would receive all of the services that he needed. He is transported back to their home by Fairhaven's van service for daily visits. Together they are able to attend events, special meals and movie nights at Fairhaven. Addressing the Board she stated "We are a family and that's the way we are treated - you've got a special place here." Being a "visible ministry of God's love" is what Fairhaven's Administration, Staff and Board of Directors strive to be as we care for God's older men and women. |
Invitation to CHHSM Agencies
The Wisconsin Conference Board of Directors invites Board Members and representatives from Wisconsin CHHSM agencies to a day with Rev. Bryan Sickbert who is CHHSM's President/CEO, at Pilgrim Center in Ripon on Monday, September 20. The program will begin with breakfast at 8:00 am and conclude at 3:00 PM. Rev. Sickbert will present a program, Vocation of the Trustee, which will focus on spiritual resources for a church related board. Breakfast ($7) and lunch ($10) can be provided at a total cost of $17 per attendee. Fees can be paid on the day of the event. To RSVP, please email Liisa Analore at Lanalore@wcucc.org by September 10. |
Where are they? Where are we?
by Gail O'Neal
August 2, 2010
Twenty-somethings on a trail in South America | Churches often lament the absence of young adults age 20-30 on Sunday morning. "We confirm them and they disappear" is commonly heard from all sorts and sizes of churches. Too true. They head off to school, new careers, Peace Corp, Teach for America, or just wander the globe soaking up God's amazing gifts.
As I dropped my daughter at college, it struck me that she was becoming "homeless," with all due respect to those truly without shelter in this world. She had left our home as a daily family member, but wouldn't settle in a permanent home of her own for years. I actually found some of the missing; in fact, quite a lot of them! While traveling in South America this summer, I was amazed at the large numbers of young adults from all over this planet who are traveling, making experiences, community, connections, friendships and lifetime memories. Hundreds of young people speaking every language imaginable were in airports, on trails, trains, buses, hostels, restaurants, plazas and market places, developing skills which will see all of us into the future. Their home during this decade is the globe and that's a good thing.*
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| Knock, Knock! Be There!
 It's a middle school thing! Start your 6-8th graders on an adventure called CHURCH. Open the DOOR to energized Youth Ministry.
At Knock Knock, your group will:
- Discover love and acceptance as the true experience of the church
- Connect faith to THEIR most pressing concerns:
- Dealing with peers ("Friends")
- Family Relationships ("Family")
- Violence ("Hurt")
- Media Temptation ("Influence")
November 19-21, 2010 Pilgrim Center on Green Lake
Friday 7pm - Sunday 11:30am
Cost: $135 per person Early-bird rate is $125, if registration is postmarked by October 15th! Registration Deadline: Oct, 29, 2010
More information |
Everyday People
 At the 2010 Annual Meeting, the Task Force on Ministry with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People was pleased to offer a photo exhibit entitled Everyday People. It featured pictures of the churches in the Wisconsin Conference UCC who have declared themselves to be Open and Affirming. That means that, as a community of faith, they engaged in serious dialogue about hospitality, inclusivity and feelings about homosexuality at a time when the issue carries a lot of emotional energy and divisiveness. Yet, they sat down together to decide not only how they felt, but more importantly, how God might be working through them
The Wisconsin Conference applauds all the churches who have faithfully taken up the topic, whether they have voted to be Open and Affirming or not.
What we heard around the margins of the exhibit which was very well received were people saying, "Why aren't we part of this exhibit?" To be fair, each church that has declared itself Open and Affirming had to not only engage in dialogue but write a public statement and submit that to The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns to be listed on the national register of ONA churches, now numbering 820 and growing.
What makes an ONA church? One that has undertaken dialogue, written a public statement and submitted it to The Coalition? What makes a church Open and Affirming? One that makes a commitment to inclusiveness for all, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.
We think there are churches in the Wisconsin Conference who live as Open and Affirming congregations but haven't made a formal declaration. We think there are churches who, because they live as ONA, assume that they must be on the ONA list already.
If your church is interested in starting a conversation, a healthy dialogue which opens its hearts and minds to all opinions, we invite you to contact the Wisconsin Conference. We have assembled the best materials we could find to generate conversation. We are prepared to help with coaching, encouragement, speakers and prayer. If you are ready, so are we.
Let's build the list of ONA churches in the Wisconsin Conference, together. |
| Fall Lay Academy Classes - Registration Extended
Watch Our Video
The Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ is pleased to announce registration for the 2010-2012 lay academy is now open. The lay Academy program offers five different courses of study to pastors and lay people who seek to: deepen faith, strengthen Christ's church, grow in spiritual maturity.
Each course meets five weekends per year at the Wisconsin Conference Center in De Forest. Faith Foundations is a two year course of study that will introduce a wide range of topics pertaining to Christian faith and the church. No prior education or experience is necessary, only a willingness to explore together in community.
Lay Leadership Skills is a one-year course of study focusing on preparing members to be leaders in their local church setting by engaging five specific ministry topics. Emphasis is placed on understanding the context of your local church and community; then applying the weekend topics to your setting through skill building and drafting ideas for possible implementation.
Schedule for 2010-2011
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 Celebrating a Founder...
Continued From Above
Professor Fernandez shows a PowerPoint on immigration | Professor Eleazar Fernandez of United Seminary of the Twin Cities is an expert on immigration trends today, and he spoke of the factors that often lead to immigration and the patterns that immigration often follows, including the immigration of German populations in the 19th century as well as immigration from the global south to the global north today. Professor Fernandez himself is an immigrant to the U.S., having been born and received his education through seminary in the Philippines.
Rev. Jerry Paul, Chief Executive of the Deaconess Foundation in St. Louis
Rev. Jerry Paul, Chief Executive of the Deaconess Foundation in St. Louis | spoke on the importance of diaconal ministries in the UCC. Nollau was instrumental in founding the early ministries to children, the elderly, and the sick in St. Louis. Rev. Paul referred to one of Nollau's most celebrated comments when he proposed founding an orphanage in St. Louis. Critics in the church of his day said they didn't have what they needed to found an orphanage, to which Nollau responded, "We have everything we need. We have orphans."
In addition to the seminar day, there was a day celebrating the ecumenical partnership between the United Church of Christ and
Nollau's signature forms the sign at the new museum | particularly the Wisconsin Conference and the Görlitz region. This event included the dedication of a beautiful Nollau museum in Reichenbach that narrates the movements of peoples to North America and their challenges to shape a life in America. The highlight of this day was the cutting of the ribbon to the museum by Nancy Nollau Mack, the great, great granddaughter of Louis Eduard Nollau. Nancy and her husband, Paul, have ties to Wisconsin. There were 12 members of the Nollau family present.
The Greendale Community UCC choir and bell choir performs  | The church partnership day ended with a wonderful concert by the choir and bell choir of Greendale Community United Church of Christ. Rev. David Gaeth brought more than 40 people in both choirs who performed concerts in 5 different locations, culminating with their concert in Johannes Kirche in Reichenbach, the church in which Nollau was baptized.
Rev. David Moyer brings greetings from the UCC | Representing the UCC as part of the Wisconsin Conference delegation included Conference Minister, Rev. David Moyer; Rev. Charles Mize and Jeanie Bond of Green Bay; Rev. Yul Kwon and Julie Park of Hancock/Wild Rose; Professor Marilyn Stavenger of Eden Seminary; Dr. Marti Baumer; Professor Eleazar Fernandez; and Rev. Jerry Paul. The Wisconsin Conference is part of planning a North American event to celebrate Nollau on November 5-6. The German delegation will then travel to Wisconsin for a visit November 7-10.
As part of the trip, our partners in Germany took our UCC group to visit churches in Wroclaw, Poland (formerly Breslau, Germany), Dresden, Wittenberg (the city where Luther taught and where the Reformation began), Herrenhut (the home of the Moravian Church), locations of health and human service ministries of the German Church (models of the early Evangelical Synod's diaconal ministries), and Berlin. Our German partners were most gracious hosts throughout our visit.
Louis Eduard Nollau spent most of his ministry in St. Louis, but he is important to the UCC in Wisconsin, as about a third of the congregations that today make up the Wisconsin Conference came from the Evangelical tradition of which Nollau was a principal founder. One of the joys of the trip was to have Nollau lifted up in importance for us in the UCC, because of the excitement with his story of our German partners. Sometimes we see ourselves most clearly when we see ourselves through the eyes of the other. |
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Nollau Event
Germany
Members of our delegation enjoy an evening meal in Berlin  |
A beautiful Gesangbuch (hymnal) is part of the museum display. This hymnal was a gift of Fern Hernandez and her husband, Ray, of Madison. The German hymnal was originally given to her great grandmother in 1881. |
Members of our delegation enjoy an evening meal in Berlin |
Dr. Marti Baumer and Rev. Jerry Paul are part of a panel discussion |
Regional Bishop, Dr. Hans Wilhelm Pietz provides an orientation |
photo provided by Wolfgang Dziern
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WI UCC is offering free, unlimited access to MissionInsite, a tool for you to utilize to locate church members, acquire instant access to community information, and access demographic data. |
Join The 2011 Annual Meeting Planning Committee
Interested in volunteering on the 2011 Annual Meeting Planning Committee? The committee meets monthly 4-6 times a year to plan the upcoming Annual Meeting. Lunch and mileage (volunteer rate) are provided.
Email Liisa Analore at lanalore@wcucc.org
if you are interested in serving . |
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Links
Association web sites
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 A Gospel Workshop, sponsored by the Wisconsin Conference UCC, is being held on Friday evening September 17 and Saturday, September 18 at Our Savior's UCC in Ripon, Wisconsin.
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Online Programming Offered through the Wisconsin Conference now has online registration
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Take a UCC Polity
course online this fall.
Tuesdays, beginning
Sept 21 - Nov 9th with Dr. Marti Baumer
$40.00
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Wisconsin Conference UCC
608-846-7880 |
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