Who will lead us? And where are we going? 

Those questions aren’t new to our congregations, though the pandemic made the answers even more elusive as churches changed course on the fly. New circumstances demanded that leaders tap veins of creativity, flexibility and inspiration that even they didn’t know they had.

Fortunately, we confronted these questions with a great resource: the Damascus Project, which builds the leadership capacity of lay people and pastors through online education. The project is the collaborative educational ministry of the UCC’s Minnesota and Wisconsin conferences. 

Now, the Damascus Project is poised to take a giant step forward, thanks to a $500,000 grant to the Wisconsin Foundation UCC from Lilly Endowment through its Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with one another, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.

Over a five-year period, the UCC’s Minnesota and Wisconsin Conferences will support the development of two Damascus learning tracks: Thriving Congregations and Living Faith. 

“We received this news just days before Thanksgiving, so the week was filled with extra gratitude for the generosity of Lilly Endowment, and the opportunity to expand the reach of the Damascus Project,” said the Rev. Dr. Stephanie Perdew, director of the Damascus Project and author of the grant proposal. “2024 will be a happily busy year as we create new courses, and invite laity, clergy and young people to learn with us toward the thriving of their congregations and our witness in the world.”

Thriving Congregations courses will be geared toward lay leaders and clergy who can learn together about good congregational governance, healthy communication and community missional assessment. The Living Faith learning track will offer a two-year online Confirmation curriculum that draws young people from small congregations into sizable learning cohorts. 



The Wisconsin Foundation UCC also works to support the Damascus Project through Leadership Forward, a $2 million fundraising campaign that aims to equip laypeople, clergy and congregations with the wisdom and skills needed in today’s church.  

The Wisconsin Conference Catalyst Team now awards grants for short-term projects and community conversations once a quarter. The application deadline is Dec. 31 for grants to be awarded in the first quarter of 2024.

Grants of up to $5,000 are available to support short-term initiatives in which congregations partner with other community stakeholders to address a previously unmet local need. Up to $1,500 is available to support community conversations around sensitive projects.

Recent grants have gone to the Latinos Emergency Assistance Fund at Hope UCC in Sturgeon Bay, which provides services to migrants in Door County; the Indigenous Peoples Project at McFarland UCC, which seeks to strengthen ties to the Ho-Chunk and other tribal nations; and a Jazz Vespers Worship Service for Community Outreach at Union Congregational UCC in Green Bay.

2024 grant deadlines are March 31, June 30, Sept. 20 and Dec. 31. Click now for more information about the Catalyst Grant program and to apply

With the war between Israel and Hamas raging on, the Wisconsin Conference Palestine Justice Working Group will host a Zoom presentation on the UCC’s 2021 Resolution of Witness calling for a just peace in the Middle East. The webinar, scheduled for 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 3, will be led by the Rev. Diane Dulin, a retired UCC pastor, and her husband, Tom Beilman, who served on the steering committee of the UCC Palestine-Israel Network.

Click to register today.

The 2021 resolution, called “Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel,” marked the first time a mainline Christian denomination had officially labeled Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories an apartheid system.

The webinar will examine the prophetic and historic role of Resolutions of Witness in the UCC and why Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem and several denominations have labeled Israel an apartheid state. The session will allow time for audience questions.

The Conference finance office needs your help as we close the books on 2023. Here are the deadlines for special support, association dues and other payments:

• Individual year-end gifts. Contributions are tax-deductible in the year they are made. Checks must contain a 2023 date and be postmarked by Dec. 31 to be deductible on 2023 returns.
• Churches’ year-end gifts.  These should be received no later than Jan. 9. Please indicate that your gift is intended for 2023 by including a 2023 remittance form or by clearly identifying the amount you are submitting for 2023.
• 
  

Please send payments to Wisconsin Conference UCC, W1000 Spring Grove Road, Ripon, WI 54971. Timely payments will help us manage the volume of payments that arrive in the final weeks of the year.



Questions? Email Finance Manager Tracy Hauge.

If you’re a high schooler or college-age young adult – or have one in your household – check out the Winter Soulstice Retreat scheduled for Jan. 26-28 at Daycholah Center in Green Lake. The weekend promises time for relaxation and camaraderie and opportunities to enrich your faith journey. Worship and music will be led by Andra Moran.

An early-bird rate of $240 for each participant is available through Jan. 7. After that, the rate rises to $250. Registration closes on Jan. 12.



Winter Soulstice is sponsored jointly by the Wisconsin Conference and United Church Camps Inc. Questions? Email Lisa Hart, associate conference minister for faith formation and justice ministries, or call her at 608-438-1571.

Learn more and register.

Join the Immigration Justice Work Group

Are you concerned about the immigration crisis? Consider joining the Wisconsin Conference Immigration Justice Work Group, which works to stay informed on the issues and to support local congregations in their work with refugees and immigrants. The group holds an hourlong Zoom meeting on the second Tuesday of each month.

Time: 1 to 2 p.m.

Date: Dec. 12

Join the meeting

Wild Church plans solstice gathering

Flicker Pop-up Wild Church will gather to celebrate the Winter Solstice. The Flicker community is led by the Rev. Daniel Cooperrider, a UCC pastor.

Time: 4 p.m.

Date: Thursday, Dec. 21

Place: Donald County Park west of Madison.

Learn more

Save the date

June 7-8: Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting at Green Lake Conference Center.

July 17-20: 2024 Great Lakes and West Central Regional Youth Event at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. 

Searching Churches

• Congregational UCC in Delavan is searching for a pastor. Details
• First Congregational UCC in La Crosse is searching for a minister of faith formation and justice ministries. Details
• Interim ministry openings
• To see all searching churches, click here.

Wider Church Searches

• Current openings at the national United Church of Christ

Installations and Ordinations

• Bridget Hill was installed at New Horizon UCC in Farmington on Nov. 19
• The Rev. Christina Schoenwetter was installed at St. John's UCC in Monroe on Nov. 19
• Priscilla Hemmersbach was installed at Congregational UCC in Sparta on Dec. 3.

New Calls

• Bill Whitford has been called as interim pastor at Emerald Grove UCC in Janesville, effective Nov. 19.

The Conference Transitions feature appears monthly in the Wisconsin Conference Life. Please share your transition information, including church anniversaries, with the newsletter editor by emailing Nola.