February 21, 2011                                                                                                                            Volume 3, issue 4
Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ
In This Issue
New Church Planter Workshop
General Synod 2011
Tiny Wisconsin Church Helps Clothe Many
Bethlehem Partnership Online Immersion
Seminary Sunday
Intentional Interim Training
WCL Submission Deadlines
Planting New Churches

Quick Links

 

 

 
Find us on Facebook

 

Associations

 

The Parish Paper

Personal Finance for Christians Workshop

 Steve Clapp will be hosting a workshop on April 29 at the Wisconsin Conference on Personal Finances.  More information

Rev. Steve Clapp 

Lent
 

Making Sense of Lent

Prepare for Easter by signing up to receive our daily devotions written by

Wisconsin Conference Pastors and Laity

 

  • Soul Search 
  • Repent 
  • Reflect
  • Rededicate Yourself
Email [email protected] to receive
"Making Sense of Lent" daily devotions
Join Our Mailing List

Events

 
New Church Planter Discernment Workshop February 25, 2011

Turn Around Church Weekend
 
February 26-27, 2011

Annual Meeting 2011

June 10-12, 2011

GLAUCE Fall Event

Fall 2011


For a complete listing of our events and committee meetings, please see our calendar.



General Synod 2011 
General Synod 2011
Official Call to General Synod 2011

July 1-5, 2011
Tampa, FL

Wisconsin Conference Life
Conference Minister's Greetings

Rev. David Moyer

Dear friends and partners in the ministry of the Gospel.

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you. 

 

In a time of conflict and danger for his community, the prophet Isaiah offered an invitation from God to the people:  "Come, let us reason together."  (Isaiah 1:18)

 

These are words to take to heart in Wisconsin these days, as divisions in our common life are causing confusion and pain.  We are all aware of the difficult economic circumstances facing our state.  Many of our families and many United Church of Christ congregations find they have to make difficult choices.  Our leaders face hard decisions about balancing a budget while continuing to provide essential services and preserve jobs that support families and build a healthy society.

 

We all know that sacrifices will have to be made.  The question is how decisions will be made and if those who will be faced with the greater burden of these sacrifices will be given the respect that offers them a place at the table as decisions are made.

 

"Come, let us reason together" is not a strategy that avoids decisions but is an essential framework of a democratic society and is consistent with the moral and ethical principles that come out of our Christian faith.  The right to negotiate is at the core of Wisconsin's history, and tough economic times are not a moment to turn away from these essential rights that provide for fair and just decision making.

 

When all come to the table and reason in good faith, better decisions are made.  When people who are affected help make decisions, they have a greater stake in the outcome and provide a voice of support for decisions, even ones that may not be in their immediate self-interest.  Basic human dignity is preserved.

 

As members of our congregations, let us remember that it is our neighbors and fellow church members and friends, and often our own families that are affected by the current attempt to remove essential rights and alter a long history of work for justice.

 

peaceLet us remember with gratitude those who teach our children and who enforce the law and provide for safety and important services on our streets and in the many places where loyal public employees work to make our state a beautiful and wonderful place to live.

 

Let us uphold our leaders while also asking them to hold to the highest standards of our history and traditions that promote justice and insure respect for all persons.  May we let them know that we offer our greatest hope and strength to them, knowing the extraordinary tasks that are before them.

 

May we all lift special prayers this Sunday for our state and for all who are involved in this important moment in our public life.  Our prayers go out to families wondering about their future, to state workers, legislators, our governor, union leaders, and all of us as citizens.  Let us pray that our churches may be a source of healing and may offer hope grounded in a God of justice and compassion who gifts us with the reason that can provide a just, fair, and respectful way through our common problems.

 

The Apostle Paul reminds us of the strong bonds that attend to human community and the call to each and all to seek not narrow self-advantage but the wider benefits of a just society.  He calls the church, and through the church the society, to recognize that the Creator provides to each of us "varieties of gifts...and varieties of service...but it is the same God who activates them in everyone (and gives) to each the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

 

In faith, may we be advocates for that common good in the community of God's people that is Wisconsin.

 

Faithfully,

 

 

Rev. David Moyer

Conference Minister, Wisconsin Conference, United Church of Christ

 

Honduran Partnership Mission Update

The Wisconsin Conference is honored to share ministries with Christian brothers and sisters of the Evangelical and Reformed Synod of Honduras.  As part of this shared ministry mission trips are made twice-yearly to Honduras to help rebuild Honduras. Below is an update from a recent mission trip in January. 

 

Lessons from Honduras

"Perspective"
by Lynne Spencer-Smith
 
 

A few things I learned while in Honduras:

 Honduras Flag

The Spanish word for "trowel" is the same as that for "spoon" - cuchara

The word Honduran masons use for mortar or concrete is really that for "mixture" - mezcla.

The word for "block" - bloque

That taking a "bath" with water out of a large concrete sink in the back yard after a long, hot, dirty day of laying "bloques" get the job done and can actually be quite refreshing.

That roosters crow at sunrise...and at 3:00 am...and at 2:00 am.  And at 1:00 am.

 

That spending 10 days in a third world country tends to put a lot of things in perspective.

Continue

 

 

 

Beyond Survival
 

Snowy Tree

Saturday, April 9th from 9 am to 2 pm at Barneveld Lutheran Church, 505 Swiss Lane, Barneveld, WI.

Workshop leaders Rev. David King, Rev. Linda Kuhn and Scott Anderson explore "What is God's Future for the Small Church?"  The focus will be on assisting congregations in identifying cultural changes and demographic realities of their communities, through Bible study discerning missional practices of the New Testament Church, connecting missional practices to new realities facing small churches today, and building a congregational action plan for addressing these realities.

 

For more information and to download an event flyer to register online.

 

The Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ is co-sponsoring this event.

Synod Contest

 

General Synod 2011Six congregations that have imagined something significant -

and then worked to make it possible - will be honored at General Synod, July 1-5, in Tampa, Fla. The celebrated churches will help bring to life the Synod's theme, "Imagine What's Possible. God is Still Speaking,"

 

One congregation representing each of the UCC's six geographic regions: Southern, Great Lakes, New England, Western, West Central and Mid-Atlantic will be chosen by Synod moderators to be honored during the Synod's Imagine What's Possible Music Festival to be held on the evening of Saturday, July 2. The winning churches' pastor and one lay leader will receive an expenses-paid trip to General Synod (airfare, hotel, registration and meals).

 

"We hope congregations will not be shy in telling the wider church what they made possible with ingenuity, persistence, faith and hard work, and why their story will bring hope and encouragement to the rest of their UCC family," says Edith Guffey, Associate General Minister and the Synod's administrator.

 

More information 

Tiny Wisconsin Church Helps Clothe Many in a Big Way 

Written by Jeff Woodard, UC News and Still Speaking Magazine
 
February 16, 2011
 

Photo Courtesy - United Church News

Imagine walking down the canned-goods aisle at the supermarket and overhearing the conversation on the other side of the shelf: "Say, you're the pastor with the clothes, aren't you?"

Pastor Moira Finley has been known to field that inquiry on a trip to the grocery store in tiny Cecil, Wisc. (population 400, "give or take," she says).

Finley is pastor of St. John's UCC in Cecil and Trinity UCC in Shiocton, 22 miles away, and oversees the hugely successful Cecil Community Clothes Closet operation at St. John's.

Read On


United Church Camps, Inc. Announces 2011 Schedule

UCCI60plusUnited Church Camps, Inc. (UCCI) recently released their 2011 program schedule.  United Church Camps, which is an outdoor ministry of the Wisoncin Conference serves to create communities of the Spirit and preserve sacred spaces for the purpose of spiritual renewal.

  • encourages the sharing of life and faith, and purposefully renews, affirms, and challenges individuals while building trust and teaching responsibility for the common life.
  • provides outdoor ministry opportunities for people of all ages, races, creeds, and abilities to foster growth in relationships with God, others and the whole creation. 

Their two camps, Pilgrm Center (Ripon) and Moon Beach Camp (St. Germain) offer a variety of year round programming for all members of the family.  From photography camp, to wild winter women retreats there is a program for everyone. 

 

Check out the 2011 Schedule and register in advance - many camps and retreats fill up quickly.   

Bright Stars of Bethlehem Online Launches

Watch The Video

 

The Bethlehem Partnership of the Southwest Association is pleased to report that their online series has launched successfully.  The online series began on February 16 and will run for 4 weeks (every other Wednesday) until March 30.  

 

To view the first in the series:  

Click here

 

To sign up to be part of the remaining 3 sessions:  

Click here

 

The next session will educate the participants on the history of Palestine.  

 

BethlehemChurchThe goals of the partnership are to increase awareness of Palestinian Christians, pray for and support the Lutheran church in Bethlehem and offer opportunities to travel to the Holy Land and meet people whose lives are affected by the ministry of the church.

 

Bright Stars of Bethlehem is a partnership between the Southwest Association of the Wisconsin Conference and the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem which began in 2003. Their pastor, Rev. Mitri Raheb, was the featured speaker at a workshop prior to Annual Meeting in 2010.

 
This Bethlehem partnership has been an important vehicle to help us understand the global nature of faith.  The Wisconsin Conference would like to widen the circle by inviting others to an online exploration and association
.  

 

We invite you to join us for four Wednesday afternoon meetings at 1:30 p.m., held online through WebEx. February 16, March 2, 16, 30.   

 

 

Celebrate Seminary Sunday
 
Please plan to celebrate Seminary Sunday on February 27th or any Sunday that works for your congregation. This is an opportunity to lift up UCC theological education during worship. Bulletin inserts or offering envelopes can be emailed or mailed to you. For more information, visit the CUE Seminaries website: www.cueseminaries.org or contact Kiely Todd Roska, 651-255-6121, [email protected] 
For congregations in Western Wisconsin, near the Twin Cities, students from United Theological Seminary are available to visit your congregation to preach, offer a mission moment, or lead adult education. Contact Kathleen Remund at UTS: [email protected], 651-255-6112.
2011 Intentional Interim Ministry Training Event

Who:  Anyone and Everyone involved in or wanting to be involved in Interim Ministry

Where:  Pilgrim UCC  535 Stow St. Fond du Lac

When:  Saturday, March 19, 2011  9:30-4:00

Leadership:  Rev. Linda Kuhn

 

PenguinsCost:  The cost of this training is being shared between the 4 Associations and the Commission on Church and Ministry.  Participants will have to provide their own transportation.  Lunch will be included in the event.

 

Registration:  Register with Susan Taylor ([email protected] or 608-846-7880)  at the Conference office no later than March 1, 2011 so supplies and lunch can be ordered.

 

What:  There is something for everyone.  Linda will offer basic orientation for those new to this specialized ministry and will also go deeper for the more seasoned about helping churches focus on their mission and interim needs.Those who are new to this ministry, those who are experienced, and those who participated in the May 2010 course are encouraged to attend.  Linda is working very closely with the Commission on Church and Ministry to provide quality training for Intentional Interim Ministers in the Wisconsin Conference.

Wisconsin Conference Life Submission Deadlines 
In an effort to adhere to a bi-weekly publication committment, pieces for consideration submitted to Liisa Analore, Editor, need to be received by the following dates of the month:
  
10th of the month for publication on the 15th
25th of the month for publication on the 1st
  
Thank you for helping the Wisconsin Conference to increase communications to our readers.
New Church Planter Discernment Workshop with
Paul Nickerson at the Wisconsin Conference
Friday, February 25, 2011 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Registration at 8:30

 

For leaders considering a new church start!

Is new church planting for me?

Paul Nickerson
Paul Nickerson

 

Across the United Church of Christ, there is increasing interest in starting new churches.  To accomodate those considering a call to do so, these discernment retreats are offered with the goal of developing a pool of clergy and lay persons who are ready to respond to a call for new church start ministry.

 

In this workshop:

  • Gain greater clarity around how God has wired you.
  • Understand leadership style.
  • Learn the questions to ask to clarify your call to consider a new church start.
  • Align your call, vision and behaviors to starting a church.
  • If not church planting, then what? 

 Event Flyer (includes registration information)


Sponsored by the Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa Conferences of the United Church of Christ. 
Sincerely,

Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ

As witnesses to God's love in Jesus Christ, the Wisconsin Conference serves with congregations, pastors, laity, and wider church partners to

  • provide networks of clergy support
  • engage laity in spiritual growth and leadership development
  • establish and renew congregations

so that the people will respond to the Spirit's call, grow in faith and discipleship, and participate in God's transforming work of peace and justice.