May 12 - 19, 2023

Below are weekly programs. You can find brief descriptions of these weekly programs on our website:

SUNDAY Morning, 10 am Zoom Worship

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

SUNDAY , 11:30 a.m. Bible Study  in person and on zoom Note: There will be no Bible Study on May 21st and 28th while Pastor Bryan is on vacation.

https://zoom.us/j/262314649

MONDAY - FRIDAY, 8 am Morning Devotion

https://zoom.us/j/94276813637

WEDNESDAY Eve., 6:30 pm Midweek Inhale Spiritual Practices

Note: There will be no Midweek Inhale while Pastor Bryan is on vaction, and because of

several other programs happening on Wednesdays we

will not begin again until Wednesday, June 28th!

https://zoom.us/j/123020606

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.

Sunday, May 14 6:30-7:30 pm, Confirmation Class Meeting

Tuesday, May 16 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Green Team Meeting (In person & Online) Multipurpose room

Thursday, May 18 6:30 - 7:30 pm, NION Monthly Meeting (Online only)

Wednesday, May 31 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Green Team Book Read, McFarland UCC under trees outside. In building, if rain.

Sunday, June 4, Strength The Church UCC Wider Church Mission Collection

Sunday, June 4 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Teen Youth Meeting with Lake Edge UCC (in person)

Tuesday, June 6 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Racial Justice Meeting (In person & Online)

Thursday, June 8 6:00 – 8:00pm, SaLT Meeting (In person & Online) - Multipurpose Room

New Care Team at MUCC

A new Care Team that has been formed! This includes a group that has been making Prayer Shawls. These will be blessed during this week's service. If anyone is interested in joining the Prayer Shawl ministry, please get in touch with Lavon Geasland, Jean Duchrow or email Ginger Hummer (administrative assistant) in the office and she'll pass along your interest.

Thanks to ALL

for supporting MUCC!

Thanks to all who have generously contributed toward Planned Capital Expenses, we were able to have the exterior of the church professionally power-washed and painted. It looks fantastic!!



Add to this the tremendous efforts of 28 volunteers who came out for the Annual Spring Cleanup on Saturday, 5/6, the church property looks wonderful and inviting. Thanks to all for your time and efforts!

Farrel Smith

Rick Duchrow

Geoff Brink

Mike Flaherty

Diane Norman

Julie Woodward

Joan Jacobsen

Harriet Taylor

Andrea Burgord

Judy Hogan

Bill Hogan

Jayne Fischer

Bruce Fischer

Bryan Sirchio

Gregg Krattiger

Colleen Krattiger

Margaret Miller

Paul Miller

Martha Olsen

Diane Mikelbank

Randy Zoran

Judy Taber

Daryl Kleckner

Cody Dewayne

Lisa Becher

Easton Becher-Etnier

Russ St Clair

Howard Olson

Would You Be Willing To Represent Our Church at the Wisconsin Conference UCC

Annual Meeting in Green Lake, WI June 8-10?

These meetings are held at a gorgeous retreat center on Green Lake and they are always inspiring and informative! If you'd be willing to go on our behalf please let Pastor Bryan or Joan Jacobsen know immediately! Our congregation will cover the costs. There will be great speakers and workshops and Andra Moran and Christopher Grundy are leading the music and worship!

Green Team Book Read -

Speak with the Earth and it Will Teach You by Daniel Cooperrider



Memorial UCC in Fitchburg has invited MUCC to join them in book discussions. 

Please join us in reading this book. “It is not enough appreciated how much of an outdoor book the Bible is,” wrote author Wendell Berry. Author Daniel Cooperrider illustrates his point with beautiful narrative- - like a stroll through the woods - - Speak with the Earth analyzes the Bible’s treatment of nature and intersperses this analysis with the author's own reflections on experiences in nature. 

Daniel Cooperrider is a local UCC Pastor.

You can read his bio here - https://www.danielcooperrider.com/bio.

You can see a trailer on this book here - https://youtu.be/5VLET7Rrltg 



Book discussions

Mountains - Wednesday, May 17 at 6:30 at Memorial UCC, Fitchburg

Trees - Wednesday, May 31 at 6:30 at McFarland UCC (under trees. Inside building, if rain), McFarland

Clouds - Wednesday, June 14 at 6:30 at Lake Farm Park (Shelter #2), Madison. Bring a chair. 

Lost and Found

A pair of prescription eyeglasses were found in a brush pile during Spring Clean Up. There are other items in the Lost and Found bin also wanting to return to their rightful owner. Please check out the Lost and Found basket in the coat area. On June 1 Ginger will donate whatever remains in the Lost and Found Basket.

General Fund Summary May 2022 - April 2023

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Be an usher.

Help in the kitchen.

No experience required...and it's fun!

Link for Usher Sign Up -For more information contact Becky Cohen (ushers) at cohenrw@yahoo.com.

Link for Kitchen/Hospitality Sign Up - For more information contact Joan Jacobsen (kitchen) at treasurer@mcfarlanducc.org

Pastor Bryan Will Be On Vacation From Monday, May 15th through Monday May 29th.

Our own amazing Mike Bausch will be leading worship on both May 21st and May 28th, so be sure to be there to experience his remarkable ministry. Thanks so much Mike for being willing to lead us these two weeks in a row!

Pastoral Care While Pastor Bryan is gone: We're doing something different. Usually Pastor Kris Gorton covers for me (Pastor Bryan) when I"m gone (and vice versa), but Kris is now on sabbatical. It occurred to me that we have people in our own congregation who can more than cover the need for pastoral care in my absence. So if you need care of any kind, please contact our Care Team leaders Jean Duchrow ((608) 335-3772) and/or Lavon Geasland ((608)-298-7094). They will be the first line of support. If pastoral care from an ordained minister is required, our own Becky Boggs will be available, as will Hospital Chaplain Cameron Macdonal as she is able.

Thanks to these members of our congregation for being willing to serve us in this way!

A Few Words From Pastor Bryan

And Anne Lamott...

I just love Anne Lamott. If you haven't read any of her books or articles, I highly recommend them. My favorite is still Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith.

Anne is funny and irreverent and always authentic and profoundly soulful. I'm amazed by writers who can make me laugh and then cry and then laugh again in just a few sentences. And in and through it all she offers hard earned wisdom and insight that so often has the effect of making God seem more Real and loving. Her way of knowing and experiencing God is "attractive" to me.

I'm going to share two brief quotes of Anne's that I'll be taking with me on my vacation. By the way, as you might have guessed, I'm going to visit my kids and grandkids. I won't write a "Few Words..." from the road unless I have something I just can't wait to share with you until I get back... Ginger will send out the Pulse so if there's something you want her to include be sure to let here know.

Here are the two quotes from Anne Lamott:

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

“Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”

I often find myself saying, "when in doubt, reboot." It's amazing how many times just shutting down a computer or piece of electronic equipment and starting it again winds up solving a tech issue. I think that's a good metaphor for why God instituted Sabbath and spiritual practices like meditation and silence. And also vacations. Sbo I look forward to rebooting the next couple of weeks.

And the Lighthouse quote... The truth behind this one has been coming at me from many angles lately. We don't need to try to run around making things (even some of the best and most important things) happen. In fact, too much activity--too many programs--too many meetings even about important things--can actually reduce the power of our efforts and energy if we're not careful. So let's all be careful about this as we continue to grow and live out our commitments. Sure, we need to do what's truly ours to do. But it's becoming more and more clear to me that the most powerful AND effective thing we can "do" is to simply BE the Love of God in the fullest and most authentic ways given to us by Grace. The Love does the work that needs to be done. Our job, as individuals and as a community, is simply to try to shine God's Light and Love and to let God take care of the rest. Our egos hate that, but our souls find their deepest nourishment, joy, and power in embracing this truth.

So I'll leave you all for a couple of weeks with these two quotes, and I encourage you to unplug when you know YOU need to. Enjoy this amazing time of year. Get out on the water, in the garden, in the woods. Fish. Play tennis, pickleball, or whatever games you love. Take some long quiet walks and soak in all the beauty. And ask God to fill you with Divine Light and Love. We need to create space for this to happen. We need to unplug, relax, and let God's Love do the heavy lifting when it comes to any challenges and difficulties we might be facing. Let Love do the work. Trust that simply Being a beacon of Light will be more than enough.

Lighthouses don't need to run around.

See you soon.

God bless you all, and thanks for the privilege it is to be your pastor.

Bryan