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"'A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song.'
"Maya Angelou (1926-2014) was a celebrated author, influential poet, actress, singer, and activist... (She) received the country's highest honors when President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"Maya Angelou's life represnted confidence, contribution, and perseverance. She left behind a lifetime of wisdom that will be cherished for many years to come." Here is a sample:
"'My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry... While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everthing else are also God's creation.
"'We can learn to see each other and see ourselves in each other and recognize that human being are more alike than we are unalike.'"
Rev. Doug Fauth, pastor of First Congregational UCC, Baraboo
Used with his permission
| | CONGREGATIONS SERVE MEALS | |
Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, recently joined the congregations that serve free food to their communities. Other recent examples are Trinity UCC, Brookfield; McFarland UCC (Christmas Day); First UCC, Belleville; St. John's UCC, Merton (Guest House); Congregational UCC, Mineral Point; Redeemer UCC Sussex and Zwingli UCC, Monticello.
| One of the Artemis II astronauts marveled at the "beauty of creation" and the specialnesss of humakind in his Easter message from deep space, as noted by St.John's UCC, Merton. | |
Many of our congregations, including St. John's UCC, Monroe; the Williams Bay UCC; Edgerton Congregational UCC (they also called attention to the Church of the Wild services) Zwingli UCC, Paoli; McFarland UCC; First Congregational UCC, Madison; and Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, honored Earth Day by emphasizing that in their worship services.
Swiss UCC, New Glarus, has put out a call for volunteers to tend their watering tem.
St. John's UCC, Merton, recently did a clean-up of the Bug Line trail near their church.
| Redeemer UCC, Sussex, will show their appreciation for their local police, including by gifting them with packs and cards. | |
First Congregational UCC, Hartland, celebrated Holy Humor Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, recognizing that the resurrrection was God's trick on the devil. Members were encouraged to be dressed in outrageous outfits and share jokes.
| Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, will have a Sauna, River and Renewal of Baptism at the Seven Acres Dairy in Paoli | Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, sustained some hail damage, such as to their solar panels, in the recent storms.. | A member of Redeemer UCC, Sussex, has put out a plea for a person to cut her lawn, using her lawnmower and being paid. | |
Friends and members of Frst Congregational UCC, Madison, were invited to join the Fiber Arts Group at Pastore and Plenty fo fund-raise for Knit-for-Good Knit-a-thon.
Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, heard from a person about the Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance in a Time of Genocide.
The annual camping weekend at Wildcat Mountain State Park of Middleton Community UCC will take place on May 29-31.
Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison, will be one of the many venues of the annual Gellery Night in Madison on May 8. It will feature a concert by the nearby Lowell Elementary School.
MCC/Comunity of Hope UCC, Madison, has announced that they will close their preschool next spring.
Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, has begun their series of forums on canidates for Wisconsin governor.
Congregatiions that provide food include Immanuel UCC, Darlington (brat stand and cinnamon roll sale); Windsor UCC (chicken 'n bisciuit dinner) and St. John's UCC, Merton (chicken dinner and brat fry).
| Zwingli UCC, Monticello, will observe Pentecost by having the sanctuary decorated with red geraniums. | | |
We are invited to participate in the Installation of Rev. Peter Strobel at Zwingli UCC, Monticello, on Sunday, May17, at 2:00.
Clergy are invited to robe and wear their favorite stole. An offering will be received for the Wisconsin Conference Member in Discernment Scholarshp Fund.
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From Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison:
"What if the empty tomb was simply God saying that the miracle that happened there; is just a foretaste of the miracles that can happen within us? And if that's the case, nothing within us is really dead. Rather, it's just a bunch of stuff waiting its turn to stand up and breathe again." (Craig D. Lounsbrough).
| The Church School of Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, had an adventure in which they had Reactor and Navigation rooms set up in their church. | BOOK AND MOVIE DISCUSSIONS | |
As a part of the Western Dane Democray Project. Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison, showed and discussed Pixar's: A Bug's Life. The film is about collective power and resistance.
Memorial UCC, Fitchburg, is reading Nice Racism: as a part of the all-Conference read.
The Congregational UCC of Williams Bay is reading Aging Ain't for Wimps, by Karen O'Connor.
Middleton Community UCC began a discussion of Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization, by Bill McKibben.
The Book Club of First Congregational UCC. Hartland, discussed Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi.
The Seekers Book Club of First Congregational UCC, Janesville, is reading The Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, by Julia Serano.
Rev. Daniel Cooperrider, convening pastor of Flicker Wild Church, and husband of Orchard Ridge UCC's Rev. Julia Burkey, will talk about his new book, Live Each Season as It Passes.
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CONTACTS
Associate Conference Minister:
Rev. Rachel Bauman
608-630-2992
Shalom Editor:
Rev. Roger Brooks
608-395-2390
swacommunications@gmail.com
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Southern Region of the Wisconsin. Conference; swacommunications@gmail.com
W1000 Spring Grove Rd., Ripon, WI 54971; 608-846-7880
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