"I will put my teaching in their minds and write it on their hearts..."
Jeremiah 31:33
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Calendar of Upcoming Events | |
Below are the weekly programs. You can find brief descriptions of these weekly programs on our website. Clickable links are in blue and italicized. | |
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. | |
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Sunday, July 28, Karen Dosch Celebration of Life, 1:00 - 3:00 pm Visitation, 3:00 pm Service with refreshments and dessert to follow
Sunday, July 28, 5:30 - 8:00 pm Games, Food & Fire Circle, Outdoor firepit
Monday, July 29, Phyllis Moore Celebration of Life, 11:00 Visitation, 12:00 pm Service
Sunday, August 4, 10:00 am, Worship, Birthday and Communion Sunday
Sunday, August 4, 5:30 - 7:00 pm, NO Teen Youth Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, August 6, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Racial Justice Care Team Monthly Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Thursday, August 8, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, SaLT Monthly Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Sunday, August 11, NO Younger Youth Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, August 14, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Healing Prayer Service (In person & Online), Sanctuary
Thursday, August 15, NO NION Monthly Meeting
Sunday, August 18, 10:00 am Outdoor Worship Service
Sunday, August 18, 5:30 - 8:00 pm Games, Food & Fire Circle, Outdoor firepit
Tuesday, August 20, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Creation Care Team Bi-Monthly Meeting rescheduled from July, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
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Thank you to this weekend's volunteers!
Ushers/Greeters: Martha Olsen & Cameron Macdonald
Hospitality Hosts: Joan Jacobsen & Julie Woodward
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News at McFarland UCC
(Note: Clickable links are blue and italicized.)
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Games, Food & Fire Circle Night
THIS SUNDAY (7/28)
5:30 - 8 pm
A time to remind each other of all that's good and true and beautiful in this world, and just have some fun together...
Join us for an evening of "Games, Food & Fire Circle" on Sunday, July 28, or Sunday, August 18 from 5:30 to 8 pm. This is for ALL AGES! We'll play games, share a cookout, and then gather around the fire to share stories, jokes, songs, poems, and things that remind us of all that is good, true, and beautiful in the world. It's a perfect opportunity to connect, laugh, and reflect in the warmth of friendship and firelight.
Bring your favorite lawn games, card games, whatever! Bring a dish to share if you can. The Church will provide ice-cold water to drink and everything needed for s'mores, but anything else you'd like to eat is up to you to bring. We just want this to be fun and easy for everyone.
Your invitation--come with a story or memory or joke or song or something to share around the fire once we settle into it. No pressure or expectation! Just come and let's be together.
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Mid-Year Financial Statements
Mid-year giving statements went out via email earlier this week. If you have questions or did not receive yours, please email the Financial Secretaries.
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"Stuff the Bus" Campaign
Now - August 11
This year's "Stuff the Bus" campaign will conclude on Saturday, August 10. On that day, volunteers will work at the main entrance to McFarland High School to accept additional donations of backpacks and school supplies and sort the donated school supplies into boxes. The boxes will then be taken to the McFarland Food Pantry, where families with school-age children will go on Monday, August 19, to pick up the backpacks and school supplies to give the children what they need to start the school year.
Stuff the Bus is a unique McFarland campaign in that it involves the volunteer effort of so many local businesses and organizations: school district staff, retired teachers, One Community Bank, Nelson Bus Service, McFarland Lions Club, McFarland Lioness Lions Club, American Legion Auxiliary, and McFarland Food Pantry volunteers.
If you wish to donate backpacks or school supplies, you may put them in the donation box at the McFarland United Church of Christ now through Sunday, August 11. There are also donation boxes at the village municipal center, the McFarland Library, and McFarland Pick 'N Save July 27-August 10. On Saturday, August 10 between 9 am and 3 pm, donations can be dropped off at the high school's main entrance. If you wish to make a cash donation, you can send a donation to the McFarland Community Food Pantry (specify 'Stuff the Bus' on the memo line of your check), PO Box 101, McFarland WI 53558, or donate online here (using PayPal or Venmo), and specify 'Stuff the Bus' in a comment.
School supplies needed: themed backpacks (grades K-5); sturdy backpacks (grades 6-12); Kleenex; black Expo dry erase FINE markers; Notebooks (college-ruled, 1-subject); #2 wood pencils (sharpened); binder dividers; whiteboard erasers; white 1-inch 3-ring binders; yellow highlighters; yellow Post-It notes; composition notebooks (wide-ruled); felt-tip pens; pocket calculators; and Ziploc bags (gallon size).
Photo: Volunteers from the McFarland Lions Club and the McFarland Lioness Lions sort donated school supplies during the 2023 campaign.
| General Fund Summary July 2023 - June 2024 | |
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SaLT Spot
From July 18, 2024 meeting
- SaLT heard a presentation by Heather Drake on her Girl Scout Gold Award Project of Planting a Native Garden to include an educational component on church property.
- Funds in excess of approved amount in reserve were transferred to Outreach Funds.
- A Mid-year update on the church budget will be presented to the congregation at the August 18th service.
- SaLT is reviewing and sharing feedback on the new directory look and features.
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Help Needed: Refreshing Our Bulletin Board and Website!
Our goal is to update our bulletin board in the fellowship area and our website with fresh photos of our vibrant community! To capture our latest events and smiling faces, we kindly request recent pictures from all. Please submit your photos to Ginger, our administrative assistant, via email or her office mailbox by August 15, 2024. If photos are provided, it will be assumed that you grant us permission to have and use the photo. If the photo contains an image of a minor, a parent/guardian will be asked to sign a Minor Photo Release Form. Let's showcase our "A Church With Heart!"
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Befrienders Training
The Befrienders will be holding another set of classes after Labor Day with the orientation on Saturday, September 7, and then weekly classes will begin on Wednesday, September 11 at 6:30 – 8:00pm. and continue the next six Wednesdays. We also offer the classes on Zoom for those unable to attend in person.
These classes are on a two year rotation so a different set of classes will be presented this year. Some of the newly commissioned Befrienders will be participating in this new set of classes but new members are welcome to join as well.
At each class we invite speakers to come in to talk about the specific topic we are studying for the week. We had a number of members of our congregation who spoke this past spring. If any of the topics we are covering this fall touches you and you would be willing to share with our group please talk to me. Please be assured, anything shared with the group is completely confidential. We will need speakers for the following topics: Dementia/Alzheimer and Parenting a Parent, Cancer and Life Threatening Illness, Grief and Loss, Mental Illness and Schizophrenia and Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
If you have any questions about the Befriender training, would like to sign up or are considering being a speaker, please let me know. We need to order books very soon so time is short.
Please contact Jean Duchrow at 608-335-3772 or by email.
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Weekly Creation Care Tips -
Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
This week’s Tip: Reduce/Refuse: Colorful balloons make us smile. Are they eco-friendly? Recyclable? Is one type better than another? Per Citizen Sustainable, the short answer is no. Most are made of plastic (mylar and vinyl) or latex (may/may not be natural latex both of which are coated in plastic to lock the air inside). None are recyclable & take hundreds of years to break down. Additionally, the balloon industry uses roughly five to seven percent of the total helium usage for single-use events. Helium, a by-product of natural gas production that makes it non-sustainable, is often in short supply while it is needed for many important things, For example, MRI scanners can’t operate without liquid helium. As part of Plastic Free July & beyond, consider using fewer balloons for the next celebration; or for balloon alternatives consider making paper pinwheels, blowing bubbles, hanging colorful cloth bunting/banners, flying paper kites, or using paper streamers.
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A Few Words from Pastor Bryan
...and Jim Carrey
I want to thank our own Araceli Wehr for posting the following quote from comedian Jim Carrey on Facebook. It struck me deeply and I'll tell you why after you read it. I've seen a number of quotes and videos from Jim Carrey recently that suggest he has been digging deeper and deeper in his own spiritual journey. Here's the quote Araceli posted;
"Life is so beautiful, especially when I'm absent from it. Don't get me wrong, Jim Carrey is a great character, and I was lucky to get the part, but I don't think of that as me anymore. I used to be a guy who was experiencing the world and now I feel like the world and universe experiencing a guy. So there's kind of been a shift."
“That peace that we’re after lies beyond personality, beyond the perception of others, beyond invention and disguise, even beyond effort itself. You can join the game, fight the wars, play with form all you want, but to find real peace, you have to let the armor fall. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.”
“You will only ever have two choices – love or fear. Choose love, and don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.”
I often hear or read spiritual teachers talking about the ultimate choice between fear and love. That always speaks to me. But the words from this quote that really jumped out to me were these;
"...to find real peace, you have to let the armor fall. Don't let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen..."
One of the reasons I'm so drawn to Jesus is because I see him as such a profound and complete embodiment of what Jim Carrey is alluding to. Jesus was (and is) pure Divine Light in human form. He did not compromise it or cover up its brilliance. And he tells us to do the same with the Light that shines through us, and the Light that we ARE (Matthew 5:14-16).
But most amazingly, Jesus had no armor. He did not protect his beautiful, radiant, loving, truthful heart from being hurt or rejected. He just kept loving. Putting himself and the Love he had to give "out there," no matter how others responded. And ultimately, though we have to be VERY careful and discerning how we understand and emulate this aspect of Jesus' witness, he risked his own physical life for the sake of Love.
What does it mean for you to let your armor fall? To not let anything stand in the way of the Light that shines in and through your life? In what ways is it a risk to allow yourself to be fully seen...in "all your glory?"
For some of us it might mean finding and living out our truth no matter what others think or how others respond, and taking the risk of fully and honestly showing up. That's really the only way to give anyone the opportunity to love us--or not love us. At times it might also mean staying true to the Love flowing through us even when it's clear that the outcome is likely to be painful--and trusting that God will use ALL of it to do something beautiful and transforming in this world.
And I do love the way Jim Carrey ends this quote--"don't ever let fear turn you against your playful heart." A big. soulful, grateful YES to that!
It's easy to think of Jim Carrey with a playful heart. But as the years go by, it's easier and easier for me to also imagine Jesus laughing and playing and goofing around and delighting in the light side of things. I imagine Jesus and all the best known spiritual teachers in every tradition as joyful, grateful, playful persons who smiled and played LOTS. I imagine them as people who never lost the ability to see how beautiful and delightful life is, and how wonder-full this world is--even when we have no armor--and even when our hearts can be easily broken.
To me, the whole story of Jesus could be summed up this way--Offering our beings as vessels through which God's BIG LOVE can flow--without armor--is always a risk worth taking.
Hope to see you in church this Sunday or somewhere soon!
Pastor Bryan
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