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Northeast Update - January 2019
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Statewide Youth Summit on Gun Violence
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We believe it is possible to address the scourge of gun violence as a people of faith, not fear. We believe our faith compels us to act in this moment, standing with the traumatized, aligning ourselves with the hope of transformation and new life.
-from the Wisconsin Council of Churches Lenten Call to Action on Gun Violence, 2018
The church must engage gun violence with Gospel values - grounding ourselves in faith, where others bring only fear. Our youth are prophetic leaders on this issue, and a year ago, we called on churches to keep their voices central. We are committed to doing the same as the ecumenical community takes on this issue.
The Wisconsin Council of Churches is excited to announce a two-phase Faith and Gun Violence project to offer resources to the churches for faithful conversation on gun violence that leads to action rooted in Gospel values.
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If you don't read Rev. Jack Kraaz's musings on life, faith, travel, and a few other things, you're missing a treat. His latest column for the
Church of Peace Messenger was especially good:
Weekly, when he saw her, he asked her how she was. Her reply was, "I am happy and satisfied."
Rob MacDougall of the Wisconsin Conference also has a piece worth checking out, this one on
small churches and what the Conference is trying to do to help them:
One of the key learnings that Suzie Craig spoke of in my conversation with her is that small vital churches are engaged in some essential ministry, a ministry deeply engaging and energizing to the church's members. This ministry is often a great benefit to the community and people where the church exists.
Read it and take hope.
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Bi-Vocational Ministry Incubator
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Are you a pastor serving a vital congregation where you know there is an imminent financial crunch? You'd like to remain there, but how can you afford to?
Are you a pastor already serving in a part-time capacity by choice or not, who might want encouragement and tools for setting realistic expectations and boundaries?
Are you a licensed pastor wanting to find a way to blend and value your work both within the church and outside the church?
Are you an interim pastor who wants to develop skills in helping congregations consider their options going forward within a missional framework and transition into other pastoral arrangements?
Are you a pastor with more energy and interest than your congregation can handle and are looking for another outlet for ministry and discipleship?
Then the Bi-Vocational Ministry Incubator might be just for you!
April - November, 2019
Increasingly, congregations can no longer afford a full-time, fully-supported pastor. And pastors are needing to wrestle with tough questions about how to sustain themselves while being faithful to their sense of call. The Bi-vocational Ministry Incubator provides a safe space where pastors can dig deeper into these questions, hone skills for doing ministry in a different way, develop tools to guide a congregation into making a transition into a more shared model of ministry, and find the courage to explore options.
Monthly day-long gatherings over the course of 8 months will offer skill-building, peer support and coaching/mentoring. The program is offered inter-denominationally and designed for both ordained and licensed/commissioned pastors, for those who want to explore this option and for those who have already made the transition and want additional support and tools, for those who seek additional income and for those who seek part-time arrangements in order to juggle home and care-giving responsibilities. Offered by Sand Bur Consulting, LLC. Brochure and application available at www.sandburconsulting.com. For more info, contact [email protected]. Registration is limited and deadline is March 22, 2019.
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Lenten Lectionary Workshop at Lakeland
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Lakeland University's annual Lenten Lectionary workshop will be held Tuesday, Feb. 12 from 9 am - 2:30 p.m. Our workshop leader will be Rev. Dr. Karl Kuhn, Grace Chair of Religious Studies and Professor of Religion at Lakeland.
Penises and Pollution: the reframing of maleness and dirty people in Luke's Gospel
By ancient standards, Jesus didn't know how to be a man, or how to keep clean. Jesus committed one polluting and emasculating act after another. And yet, as Luke presents it, Jesus embodied a form of maleness and purity essential to the kind of community that mediates the blessing of God. Drawing from his book, Insights from Cultural Anthropology (Fortress Press, 2018), Rev. Dr. Karl Kuhn will share some of the latest research on masculinity and purity in ancient Mediterranean society. Participants will discuss how these insights can enrich our reading of Luke's narrative, including passages featured in the upcoming lectionary cycle, and guide our proclamation of authentic personhood and purity among our communities today.
Cost: $35; includes continental breakfast and lunch and study materials
Location: Room 209 of Laun Center
Register online:
https://lakeland.edu/Inside-Lakeland/ulrich-center-event-registration
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General Synod 32 Volunteering June 21-25, 2019
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In less than eight months, members of the United Church of Christ will be converging in Milwaukee, Wisc., for the denomination's 32nd General Synod. On Monday, November 12, organizers launched the 2019 General Synod website, http://www.synod2019.org, and opened registration and housing for all delegates and visitors of the biennial gathering, taking place June 21-25, 2019 at the Wisconsin Center.YOUR HELP IS KEY to the success of the Wisconsin Conference hosting the 32nd General Synod of the UCC at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. Over 3000 people are expected to attend and we need 300 to 400 volunteers to assist the Local Arrangements Committee over this 5-day event. Here is an opportunity to experience the wider United Church of Christ and to learn about our denomination and the many ministries we are engaged in on behalf of Jesus Christ.
Here are ways you can volunteer:
- Extravagant Hospitality and Welcome: Welcome and direct attendees at Mitchell Airport, the Intermodal Station
- downtown and in designated hotels.
- Registration Table: Assist with the check-in process at the Wisconsin Center.
- Guides and Greeters: Welcome and provide directions to attendees in the Wisconsin Center.
- Accessibility: Assist with motorized scooters, or other accommodations.
- Childcare and Children's Ministry: Provide supervision and program leadership for age-appropriate child care and children's activities for infants through age 12. All volunteers in this area will have a background check.
- Word Processing for Education and Committees; use your word processing skills to maintain edits in pronouncements of assigned committees.
- Floor Stewards: Assist delegates during plenary sessions as needed.
- Exhibit Hall Support: Assist in the area designated for UCC and related agencies and vendors.
- Worship Ushers: Usher during worship services of Synod.
- Volunteer Support: Support volunteers before and during General Synod.
- App-bassadors: Help delegates and visitors to access the General Synod app.
- Outdoor Festival: Direct and assist attendees at the Sunday Festival at Frank Zeidler Square Park.
- Flexible On-Call: On-call volunteers will cover needs which arise unexpectedly.
In January, Volunteer registration will be available online through the Wisconsin Conference website page for General Synod. Information with the link will also be emailed to congregations. All registrations for Volunteering will be done electronically including indicating the positions available and the dates/times volunteers are needed.
Fill out the form and schedule yourself for a specific opportunity/ies and specific times. To qualify for a reduced Synod registration fee, volunteers must sign up for 6 hours. Once confirmed as an Official Volunteer you will receive a code and can register on the UCC General Synod website,
ucc.org/synod.
After registering as a volunteer, Volunteers must register with the General Synod site and pay a reduced fee of $60. As a registered volunteer you are able to attend all 5 days of the General Synod as a visitor volunteer at this reduced rate. DO NOT Register on the Synod website until you have been confirmed and received the volunteer code.
We hope you consider volunteering at General Synod 32 in Milwaukee June 21-25, 2019! We want you to help give an extravagant welcome to the United Church of Christ in Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Conference.
General Synod 32 LAC Coordinators: Bonnie Andrews, Debbie Payden, Tom Payden, Tim Perkins
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Ministry
Food Pantry Collection
Starting out 2019, for the month of January, we will be collecting feminine and personal hygiene products such as shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, pads, tampons, etc. The collection box for the Food Pantry is located in the Narthex near the west entrance, under the fire extinguisher. All nonperishables are taken to Rays of Hope Food Pantry in Kiel, WI.
[Editor's note: Many congregations take up such collections for food pantries in their area. But this is a good opportunity to remind readers that feminine and personal hygiene products, along with toilet paper and diapers, are relatively expensive and often not covered by other assistance programs. They make excellent choices for donations-but remember to ask you local pantry what
they need.]
Schwarzwald, Howard's Grove
Appliances for Puerto Rico
The local churches of Puerto Rico have been active in many aspects of the rebuilding: from providing meals to communities, solar luci lights to those with sporadic electricity, the elderly, rebuilding alongside other teams and organizing long term preparedness for future disasters.
They need your help with a special need: appliances for those who lost everything and don't have resources to replace them.
First Congo set up the Puerto Rico Special Resources Fund. Every donation will be matched by Mission and Service Claire Gehin fund up to $ 5,000.
We have a team traveling to Puerto Rico in March to rebuild homes and they will take your donations/matching funds with them to be dispersed by the disaster coordinating team there.
No funds will be used by the volunteers. Checks can be made out to First Congregational (FCUCC) with Puerto Rico fund in the memo. Thank you!
First Congregational, Appleton
Fundraisers
Homemade Carry-Out Soup will be available 4th Sundays of January, February, March and April. Order by 3rd Sunday of each month. $8/quart - proceeds go to COP General Fund.
Church of Peace, Fond du Lac
Fun(!)
Game Day at church!
January 20 11:30 am - 3:00 pm
Come one, come all and have a Ball!
January is cold and blue, but Sunday afternoon will be fun and hot! Lunch will be provided and games will begin directly after church. Come for a little time or come for the afternoon. Fun for ALL ages! Bring yourself; and if you want, a favorite game to share.
Congregational, Neenah-Menasha
Pedals, Pipes and Pizza
Register by Monday, January 14
Event on Saturday, January 26
"Pedals, Pipes and Pizza" will be held on Saturday, January 26 from 8:30 AM-noon at Trinity Episcopal Church (311 Division St., Oshkosh, WI), located in downtown Oshkosh. This is an exciting opportunity for piano students, ages 9-18, to play their pieces on a pipe organ, to explore the powerful range of sound and to learn about organs.
For questions or registration, please contact Marianne Chaudoir, organist at Trinity Episcopal Church, at [email protected].
First Congregational, Appleton
Trivia Sunday
Join us for an afternoon of Trivia Sunday, January 27th at 3:00pm Immanuel United Church of Christ (W3694 County Road FF, Plymouth) The cost is $7 per person. Beverages will be provided. Please bring a snack to share. Door prizes will be awarded!
Come with a team (no more than 8 people per team, please) or come by yourself and team-up with others when you arrive. We look forward to a night of fun, facts, and fellowship. Friends, family, and folks of all ages are welcome! Proceeds will go to support the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund of Wisconsin Public Service, which is a nonprofit program that helps the elderly, disabled, and others with limited incomes to pay their heating bills.
Immanuel, Plymouth
Success
Our Blacktop Project Has Been Paid Off! The money has been transferred from the Improvement Fund to the General Fund in the amount of $4,708.45 which officially makes our blacktop project complete and paid in full. Thank You!
Saron, Sheboygan Falls
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Members of Manitowoc Cooperative Ministry's two United Church of Christ congregations voted on December 2 to approve the Merger Motion and Associated Covenants that were a culmination of months of learning, sharing, visioning, and discerning. From January 1 through December 31, 2019, First Reformed UCC and St. John's UCC will engage in the process of formally merging into one new United Church of Christ congregation.
We have all been experiencing and learning a lot together, with highs and lows along the way, but we're listening faithfully to God's voice as we continue to move forward together. We will carefully take the steps needed to integrate both UCC congregations in a way that honors our separate pasts and celebrates our united future. Our UCC and Presbyterian congregations will continue to witness to God's presence in our community as Manitowoc Cooperative Ministry.
From the MCM Update
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About the Northeast Update: Published monthly. Rev. Daniel Schultz, Editor Mike Mathes, Assistant Editor
Digital Submissions can be sent to Rev. Schultz, or paper copies to 270 Laurel Lane, Fond du Lac WI 54935
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