Ahead of the Fourth of July, Conference Minister Franz Rigert sent a message to the Conference in which he contrasted the today's bitter divisions with the joy surrounding the U.S. bicentennial in 1976. “All this makes me wonder how we can proclaim our faith and elevate the values anchored in Scripture in ways that bring people together,” he wrote. “As both citizens and as Christians, we are invited to approach the Fourth of July as a celebration of the values upon which this nation was founded and that continue to propel us toward becoming a more perfect Union: inclusion, diversity, equality, compassion, and justice. . . . We can yet proclaim the gospel truths that will inspire a renewed vision for this nation we love.” 

Read Franz’s message to the Conference.

For the Rev. Shannon Joshi, her new role as associate conference minister for the Northern Region fits like a glove. Her first exposure to judicatory work came when she served on a clergy fitness review team. There, she said, “I learned that I enjoyed helping people through difficult moments and helping groups of people think innovatively about change.” Shannon is an Eau Claire native and earned a degree in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before finding her way onto the staff of First Congregational UCC in Eau Claire, where she served as associate pastor after being ordained in 2024. 



Read our Q&A with Shannon.

Registration is now open for the 2025-2026 Living Faith online confirmation program designed for eighth-graders in Wisconsin and Minnesota UCC churches. Living Faith, offered by the Damascus Project, is tailored to small and rural congregations that can’t support a confirmation program on their own. You can learn more about it at one of two virtual information sessions hosted by Living Faith’s director, the Rev. Uriah Williams. Sessions will take place at 6 p.m. on July 22 and 26. Two Living Faith cohorts will meet twice monthly beginning in September. Questions? Email Uriah.

Register for the Living Faith program.



Join one of the information sessions.

Wisconsin clergy are invited to sign an open letter to gubernatorial candidates calling on them to commit to putting the state on the road to 100 percent renewable energy. The letter describes the climate crisis as a spiritual crisis. It’s a project of Faith in Place, an interfaith nonprofit that advocates for environmental justice in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Illinois already passed legislation that expanded solar energy more than 100-fold. Questions about the letter or the campaign? Email Faith in Place outreach director Laura Lane.



Sign the Open Letter to Wisconsin's Future Governor from the Faith Leaders of Wisconsin.

If you have a middle schooler, lead middle schoolers or are a middle schooler, listen up: There’s still time to sign up for Freshwater Faithworks, a new opportunity for middle school youth and adult leaders to explore the importance and sanctity of our water sources and how human activity affects the health of our waterways for better or worse. This service and learning trip, a partnership of the Wisconsin and Minnesota conferences, will take place July 29 through Aug. 2.



Learn more and register.

The next Sermon Talk hosted by the Rev. Stephanie Perdew, will take place at noon on Tuesday, July 7. . . . Registration is open for 2026-2027 Communities of Practice. Register here for a clergy group and here for a Christian ed/faith formation group. . . . Wisconsin Conference This Week is on a summer publishing schedule. Our next issue will reach your mailboxes on July 20.

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The Wisconsin Conference UCC is an Open and Affirming Conference, WISE for Mental Health Conference and an Immigrant Welcoming Conference.

Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ

W1000 Spring Grove Road, Ripon, WI 54971

mail@wcucc.org

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