The pandemic is over, but the challenges to mainline churches remain: Although 50 to 60% of people are regathering in person, there’s nothing to suggest that the other 40 to 50% of the congregation plans to return. How can the church thrive in the face of those statistics?

The answer, suggests the Rev. Cameron Trimble, is to engage our collective imagination to shape the church we want to see. Trimble, a UCC pastor, futurist and church consultant, earlier this month delivered a Leadership Matters Lecture hosted by the Damascus Project. Her talk, “Church Post-Doom: The Future of Spirituality and Congregational Life,” took dead aim at the malaise gripping many segments of the church.

“What we’re suffering from in the human condition is a poverty of imagination,” she said, noting later that “innovation comes at times of desperation.”

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated existing trends, Trimble said, including the breakdown of democracy, the climate crisis, the racial reckoning around the death of George Floyd and widening economic inequality, as well as the declining size of religious institutions and their influence on society. One result of these trends is an epidemic of loneliness.

“It feels like a hot mess,” she said.

The antidote: Build “circles of sanity . . . communities that hold the values we want to see in the world.”

“I would call them ‘congregations,’” Trimble said. Among the keys to building the congregations that serve the future we want:

• Build trust. “Change moves at the speed of trust,” Trimble said, and people increasingly find institutions untrustworthy. As we create “circles of sanity,” let’s make sure they provide a trusting, safe environment where relationships can blossom.
• Be authentic. For trust to grow, congregations and individuals must be accountable for being who they say they are.
• Nurture community and connection. “That’s the subversive act of congregational life,” she said. 
• Communicate. Lack of communication erodes trust. In her work with congregations, “Almost universally one of the first complaints is ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’” Trimble said, noting that “surprised people behave badly.”
• Recover a deep sense of spirituality. People of faith must cultivate the inner life, to “recover a deep sense of spirituality, of experiencing the faith we proclaim.”

These imperatives are vital to innovation. “What we need to be doing is building and rebuilding trust, identifying and living values, building connections and bringing forth our greatest creativity to meet the moment,” Trimble said.

The Leadership Matters Lecture Series supports the Leadership Forward capital campaign of the Wisconsin Conference UCC.

Anyone out there interested in a part-time job alongside some terrific colleagues, in an office perched on the edge of beautiful Green Lake? We might have something for you.

The Wisconsin Conference is searching for an office coordinator to work 24 to 28 hours a week at our headquarters at Daycholah Center, where our 12-person staff carries out the Conference mission of resourcing, supporting and equipping Wisconsin’s 210 congregations of the United Church of Christ. The job requires some in-office time from Tuesday to Thursday each week, with remote work at other times. Click for more details and to learn how to apply.



It’s a great group to work with, if we do say so ourselves.

Conference Minister Franz Rigert last week sent a pastoral message to the Wisconsin Conference calling for a prayerful response to the war between Israel and Hamas. “This feels like a time to mourn together, and to find solidarity and solace in prayers for all who anguish,” Franz wrote. His reflection was prompted in part by his experience at an interfaith breakfast in Milwaukee.

“Leaders of the three Abrahamic religions humbly acknowledged this was a moment of sighs too deep for words,” he wrote. “And so, we shared the bond of lamentation – profound sadness for such brutal destruction, death, and devastation to Palestinians and Israelis alike. So much anger turned to rage. So much resentment turned to revenge. So much hopelessness in the very land of Isaac, Ishmael and Jesus.”



Read Franz’s pastoral message

The UCC’s new general minister and president, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, will be formally installed as the UCC’s 10th general minister and president at 4 p.m. Central on Friday, Oct. 20, at Lakewood Congregational Church in suburban Cleveland. Preacher for the installation service will be the Rev. Merlyn Hyde-Riley, the first woman to hold office as general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union.

Friday’s installation will be livestreamed. Register now for the livestream.

Mission House Lecture at Lakeland

Rebecca Todd Peters, a professor of religious studies at Elon University and vice president of the Society of Christian Ethics will deliver an address on Christianity, abortion and reproductive rights.” She is the author of “Trust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice.”

Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Date: Monday, Oct. 23

Place: Bradley Fine Arts Theater at Lakeland University

Learn more.

Palestine Justice Working Group

The Wisconsin Conference work group formed to educate UCC members about the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations and advocate for justice for all Palestinians will hold its regularly monthly meeting by Zoom. The meeting is open to clergy and laypeople. The group’s facilitator is the Rev. Steve Davis.

Time: 7 p.m.

Date: Monday, Oct. 23

Register now.

UCC webinar: Holy Heat Pumps

When it comes to how we heat and cool our church buildings, heat pumps are a crucially important technology in the transition away from fossil fuels. This webinar offered by the national setting of the UCC will explain how heat pumps work and how congregations can tap government funds for their purchase.

Time:  Noon Central

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 25 (Can’t make the scheduled time? Sign up anyway to receive a recording.)

Register now.

Stewardship webinar: Donors who don't come to church

People find multiple ways to engage in the life of a congregation. Congregations often do well at engaging people who attend in-person services regularly, volunteer and donate. But how do we meaningfully engage people online? How do we inspire those who don’t give to donate? Connect with those who share our values but are not interested in in-person or online worship? This webinar, presented by the Rev. Andrew Warner, will identify various ways to engage donors beyond Sunday Morning services.

Time: 6:30 p.m. Central

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 25

Register here

Save the date

• Nov. 18-20: McFarland UCC will host Mark Charles, a Native American author and expert on the Doctrine of Discovery, for a series of community events. He will preach at the 10 a.m. service on Nov. 19.
• Jan. 26-28: Winter Soulstice Retreat for high school youths at Daycholah Center, with music and worship leadership by Andra Moran. Email Lisa Hart for more information.
• July 17-20: 2024 Great Lakes and West Central Regional Youth Event at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. 

The National Organization of Wider-Church Youth Ministry is seeking to develop a pool of 16 facilitators to help lead Crossroads Anti-Racism Ministry Training in the UCC. Facilitators are expected to make a one-year commitment, with a three-year commitment possible. Training for the team is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 10. Click to learn more and indicate your interest.

Wisconsin Conference UCC search

• The Conference is searching for an office coordinator. Details

Searching churches

• Peace UCC in Brillion is searching for a pastor. Details
• To see all searching churches, click here.
• Interim ministry openings

Wider Church searches

• National United Church of Christ openings: Details

New Calls

• The Rev. Ted Drewsen has been called as intentional interim at Zwingli UCC in Monticello, effective Oct. 1.
• The Rev. Sonny Graves has been called as bridge pastor at Zwingli UCC in Mt. Vernon, effective Oct 1.
• The Rev. Laura Hawkins has been called as interim minister at St. John's UCC of Random Lake, effective Oct. 1.
• The Rev. Yvette Eber has been called as pastor at Plymouth Congregational UCC in Burlington, effective Oct. 2.

Installations and ordinations

• The Rev. Matthew Schneider-Adams was installed at First Congregational UCC in Oconomowoc on Oct. 8.
• The Rev. Nathan Holst was installed at St. John's UCC in La Pointe on Oct. 15.

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.