April 5 - 12, 2024

Below are the weekly programs. You can find brief descriptions of these weekly programs on our website. Clickable links are in blue and italicized.

SUNDAY Morning Worship, 10 am in person and via Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/97010988439 Password: betogether

SUNDAY, 11:30 a.m. Bible Study in person and on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/262314649 (Not Palm Sunday or Easter)

MONDAY - FRIDAY, 8 am Morning Devotion

https://zoom.us/j/94276813637

Below are the upcoming non-weekly events on the calendar happening at McFarland UCC for about the next month. All events are on the McFarland UCC calendar with Zoom links and additional information in the details/description area. Click the event on the McFarland UCC calendar to see the details.

Saturday, April 6, 9:00 - 11:00 am, Befrienders Orientation (In person & Online)

Sunday, April 7, 10:00 am Worship, Birthday and Communion Sunday

Sunday, April 7, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Teen Youth Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, April 9, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Shamanic Journeying with Jessica Riphenburg, Sanctuary (this has been rescheduled and will NOT take place at this originally scheduled time. We will post the rescheduled time when we have it. At this moment we do not.)

Wednesday, April 10, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Healing Prayer Service (In person & Online), Sanctuary

Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 - 9:00 pm, Befrienders Training (In person & Online), Fellowship Area

Thursday, April 11, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, SaLT Monthly Meeting (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room

Saturday, April 13, 10:00 - 11:30 pm, Love Has the Final Word, Multipurpose Room

Sunday, April 14, 5:30 - 6:45 pm, Younger Youth Meeting

Wednesday, April 17, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Befrienders Training (In person & Online), Fellowship Area

Tuesday, April 23, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Shamanic Journeying with Jessica Riphenburg, Sanctuary

Wednesday, April 24, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Befrienders Training (In person & Online), Fellowship Area

Wednesday, May 1, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Befrienders Training (In person & Online), Fellowship Area

Saturday, May 4, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Blood Drive, Multipurpose Room

Sunday, May 5, 10:00 am Worship, Birthday and Communion Sunday

Sunday, May 5, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Teen Youth Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, Racial Justice Team Monthly Meeting (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room

Prayer Requests? Contact Jean Duchrow or Lavon Geasland.

Some Very Sad News To Share

I am so sorry to have to share with you the sad news that our beloved church member Calvin Swenson passed away this last Tuesday night. If you have not yet heard this news, I can only imagine what a shock this is to you as it was to me and all those who knew and loved Calvin. This photo here of Calvin was taken from his latest Facebook Profile picture. Calvin had a tree care business, and just recently used his lift equipment to paint the cross on the steeple of our church.

Our hearts go out to Calvin's family and to everyone who was particularly close to him. I'm not going to say much more at this point except that I am available to any of you who may want to talk about this tragic loss of this beautiful 37 year old young man's life. As always, we will come together as a church and create a loving environment in which to share our grief, support each other, be there for the Swenson family and especially for Calvin's daughter Adelynn (Addy) who is active with our Younger Youth group.

Calvin's Celebration of Life Service will be held at our church next Wednesday, April 10th at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be at our church Tuesday evening from 4:00-7:00 p.m., and again Wednesday morning from 9:30-11:00. A luncheon reception will take place at our church following the service.

Again, please be in touch if you would like help processing this sad news in any way. I have no doubt that we will come together as a church community and provide a beautiful atmosphere of comfort and healing for everyone, and for Calvin's loved ones especially.

Calvin was such a blessing to our congregation these past few years when he was active with us. His beautiful spirit, kind heart, playfulness, brilliance, servant's heart, and contagious smile will be missed terribly.

God is with us all, and Calvin is with God. We'll miss you greatly Calvin.

Pastor Bryan

608-577-8716

Postcard Writing Campaign to Get Out the Vote

MUCC is partnering with Reclaim Our Vote, a campaign of the Center for Common Ground, to encourage under-represented voters to vote. We will send 300 postcards by May 9th to people of color in Georgia who are registered to vote but have not voted in the past couple of election cycles. The Georgia primary is May 21.

After Sunday services in April, you are invited to write postcards, following a template provided to us by Reclaim Our Vote. We will have postcards, pens, markers, and the script on the tables outside the sanctuary for anyone interested in writing a few postcards.

These handwritten postcards have an impact on the people who receive them. We understand that information is power, and we work to empower voters. Join us!

Join us on Wednesday, April 10! Questions? Cameron Macdonald

Would You Like To Join Our Church As A Member?

Sunday, April 14th

During the Sunday Morning Worship Service

We will be receiving some new members into our congregation on Sunday, April 14th. If you would like to join our church as an official member at this time with the others please contact Pastor Bryan and let him know (pastorb@mcfarlanducc.org or 608-577-8716). Pastor Bryan will contact you and answer any questions you might have about what being an official member of our congregation means. The only "privilege" that members enjoy that friends or visitors do not is a vote at congregational meetings. Beyond that it's really just a way of publicly saying "I want to be a part of this community and call it my spiritual home," and also that you are willing to find ways to get involved and share your gifts and time and energy in support of and service to the church community and beyond. All are welcome!

Racial Justice Opportunity at American Players Theater in August

Members and friends of MUCC are planning to attend the Saturday, 8/3, 2 pm performance of

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the American Players Theater (APT). After the performance, we will gather on the grounds of APT to share food and fellowship prior to discussing our reactions to the play. We will be joined by APT’s Community Engagement Coordinator who will provide discussion questions. This is a wonderful way to continue our journey of learning about racial disparities and to discuss actions we can take to improve ourselves, our community, and beyond.

We are taking advantage of APT’s “Four Packs on the Hill” pricing (individual ticket prices will be no more than $35). If you are interested and want to reserve your seat, please contact Joan Jacobsen at joan@mcfarlanducc.org or 608-669-7944 by Wednesday, April 17 . Joan will follow up with you regarding payment for your ticket(s). If you have questions about this event, please do not hesitate to contact Joan Jacobsen.

Weekly Creation Care Tips -

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle

Submitted by Ecojustice Team

This week’s Tip: Reduce. While every day is Earth Day, April 22 is the official day of celebration. The global theme this year is “Planet vs. Plastic” with a call to change how we think about plastic and our environment/creation. “The word environment means what surrounds you. Now plastics do more than surround us; we have become the product itself-it flows through our blood stream, adheres to our internal organs, and carries with it heavy metals known to cause cancer and disease. Now this once-thought amazing & useful product has become something else, and our health & that of all other living creatures hangs in the balance,” per Kathleen Rogers, President of Earthday.org. “The Planet vs. Plastics campaign is a call to arms, a demand that we act now to end the scourge of plastics & safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet.” The Ecojustice Team invites all of us to take the month of April to consider how we might reduce the amount of plastic in our lives.

A Few Words from Pastor Bryan

...and Mother Teresa

I've been a fan of Mother Teresa's for a long time, and have often quoted her in both my musical and spoken messages. One of my more widely used songs, "Something Beautiful For God," is taken directly from the sayings and theology of Mother Teresa. Each morning after their 6 a.m. worship service at the "Mother House" in Calcutta, India, Mother Teresa would send off the "Missionaries of Charity" sisters to their daily work stations among the poorest of the poor with these words;

"Come Sisters, today let us do something beautiful for God."

I was blessed in the fall of 1995 to meet Mother Teresa in Calcutta and to hear her speak those words in person. I had just actually received the Sacrament of Holy Communion with the sisters, and Mother Teresa had placed the wafer on my tongue. Yeah--this is probably my favorite "name drop." :) As you can imagine, that was an unforgettable experience.

Despite the acclaim she eventually received, Mother Teresa lived a very difficult life. She was not appreciated and revered by everyone. She was often criticized for focusing on charity without a commitment to social justice. She was dismissed by many, ridiculed, and put down. Most of her life was not lived in the limelight at all, and it was revealed after her death that she suffered from deep personal doubts and sometimes struggled to maintain her faith at all--even though she'd given God her entire life.

There's something about Mother Teresa's deep commitment to God and to her vow of "cheerful wholehearted service to the poorest of the poor"--that touches me deeply. She was tenacious and downright stubborn when it came to her commitment to love, even when her efforts often seemed to make no lasting difference when it came to the root causes of the poverty in which she lived and served. She faced lots of institutional opposition--especially in the early years when she was bringing her order into being. She was often dismissed and treated poorly by the Patriarchs of the Church.

What touches me is that she not only refused to give up, but she kept deepening her wisdom, compassion, and resolve. When she was criticized for not being "effective" when it came to social change, she said, "God has not called me to be effective. God has called me to be faithful, and to respond to suffering with love. Love is not always effective." I have returned to these words many times in my life when I wonder if anything I say or do is really making a difference. I remind myself--God has not called me to be effective (though of course I want to be as effective as possible!)--God has called me to be faithful and to respond to suffering with love.

This past week was a heavy one in this world at large, and in the life of many of us personally. Sometimes it sure does not feel or seem as though Easter Hope makes much of a difference, or that it's enough to get us through the dark times. Sometimes it sure does not feel as though "Love is the Final Word."

And yet, that's when we need to believe in the Power of Resurrection Love the most. When it doesn't seem as though Love is the word or as author Anne Lamott puts it, that "Grace always bats last. " That's when we need to remind ourselves that Easter faith means we put all our trust in God's Love--ANYWAY.

Love Anyway... and that's what made me think of Mother Teresa this week. The poem, "Love Anyway," was hanging on the wall of an orphanage (Children's Home) I visited in Calcutta that same day I met Mother Teresa. Some say Mother Teresa wrote it. Others say a man named Ken Keith composed it and Mother T put it on the wall.

Whoever wrote it, I'll close these "Few Words..." with that poem.

I sure hope to see you in church on Sunday.

Pastor Bryan

"Love Anyway"

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.