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The Source | October 8

Sugar River Mission Statement:

Connect, Grow, and Serve in our relationship with God and others!

Connect

Questions or Ideas? Contact Tina Carlson

Join us for Worship

in person or online!

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Living A Legacy

Pastor Mike Weigand
Hebrews 12:1-2
Matthew 5:13–16

Online Worship

We offer a Sunday service livestream at 9:30 am on YouTube.

Click the button below to join us!

Watch livestreams on our YouTube channel!

Coming Soon: What Will Remain?

This October, Sugar River Methodist Church begins a four-week stewardship journey called What Will Remain? Together, we will explore the legacy we are living through our time, relationships, resources, influence, and faith. Our first message, Living a Legacy, reminds us that we don't leave a legacy some day, we are living it now. Join us in worship and take time this week to review the stewardship devotional and reflect on the legacy your life is already creating.

What Will Remain? devotional

Week 1 Reflection — Living a Legacy

We sometimes think of a legacy as something we leave behind at the end of our lives. But Jesus' words in Matthew 5 remind us that our lives are already making a difference. We are salt and light in the world right now. We don't leave a legacy some day. We live it every day. How we spend our time, treat people, use our abilities and resources, and live out our faith, shape the people and communities around us.

This week, continue your reflection through our stewardship devotional. As you pray, consider not only what you have received, but what you are helping to create for those who will come after you.

Unlock Your Spiritual Gifts

Lots of us have talents and skills—you might be musical, or artistic. Maybe you’re great at repairing thing or understanding science.

We also have special gifts from God, called Spiritual gifts, that are different from talents or skills. We’ve subscribed to a special tool to help you unlock your gifts. We want everyone in the church to take a few minutes to do the survey. Once you answer the questions, you’ll see your gifts, along with a description. Sugar River will also get your results—our goal is to help you serve in ways that excite you and use your unique gifts.

Please take a few minutes over the next few weeks to do this survey, and thank you for all you do for your church!

https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/spiritual-gifts-survey/?id=902605

Around the River

Puppets in the House: A Weekend of Fun

October 8-11

Get ready for a weekend full of puppets, performances, art, food, and fun! Puppets in the House is coming to our community, with events happening at Sugar River UMC and throughout the area.

Thursday, October 8, Puppet Open Mic, 7-9pm

(ART House 360)

Share your talents by performing a short piece for the crowd. Seating is limited, so register for your free ticket here whether you plan to perform or just watch.

Friday, October 9th: 7:30pm

(Sugar River UMC)

Ticketed performances featuring Miss Pussycat and Quintron, Liz Hara, Vanessa Valliere, and Andrea Noel

Tickets are $12-18 and can be purchased here. View the full line up here.

Community Day, Saturday, October 10, 2-8pm

Join us at Sugar River UMC, Century School Park, and ART House 360 for a full afternoon of fun, including four puppet shows, a glowing puppet parade, food and art vendors, crafts, and drop-in workshops. Click here for the schedule and more information.

And don’t miss the puppet sketches in worship on Sunday!

Come experience this unique celebration of puppetry and community—we’d love to see you there!

Grow - Adult

Questions or Ideas? Contact Pastor Erin

Giving Beyond the Offering Plate

Sunday, October 18, after worship

Generosity doesn’t have to begin and end with writing a check, putting money in the offering basket, or scheduling an online EFT.

You are invited to Giving Beyond the Offering Plate, a practical seminar presented by Jason Mahnke of the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation following worship on Sunday, October 18. We’ll explore different ways to use the resources God has entrusted to us to support the church, ministries, and other causes we care about.

We’ll talk about giving strategies that may allow you to give more tax-efficiently and make better use of resources you already have, including gifts from an IRA, appreciated stock, donor-advised funds, and other options. We’ll also look at ways you can support the church and ministries you care about beyond your lifetime.

After worship, grab some coffee and snacks and then come back into the worship space for the seminar. Whether you’re thinking about your giving today, planning for the future, or simply curious about options beyond traditional cash gifts, you are invited to come and learn.

Grow - Children

Questions or Ideas? Contact Pastor Erin

Trunk or Treat

October 25, 10:30am

Our annual Sugar River Trunk or Treat will be October 25th after worship in our beautifully resurfaced parking lot. This great event is open to all Sugar River Families as well as to all members of the Verona area community. Mark your calendars, start preparing those trunk designs and costumes and prepare for some fun. You won't want to miss it!

Interested in decorating your trunk? Be sure to let Pastor Erin or Marilen Driscoll know! You can provide your own decorations. Or, we can provide both the decorations and treats for the trunk too!

Serve

Click here for our monthly serve sign ups including Fellowship Hosting, Connection Desk and Greeting.

FSSF Meal Prep

October 11, 8:00am

Here are two ways to sign up to support the Friends of State Street Family mission with Sugar River.

Sign up to help assemble the meal at Sugar River.
Sign up to donate something for the meal. Donations must be at the church by 8AM Saturday morning. If you drop them off early, please put refrigerated items in the back fridge (by laundry machines), and use the labels located by the back nfridge to label your item's purpose.

Please drop off donations the week of October 11. The church is regularly open Sunday mornings or 9-2 Monday-Thursday.

Thank you for supporting this mission!

Meadowridge Snack Attack

The Thursday Morning Men’s Group will fix sandwiches and deliver snacks on Monday, October 19th. Donations for sandwich-making and other snack items are available. Here is the link for details and the sign-up.

Items are due by Sunday, October 18th .

The signups are also accessible by our website at: https://www.sugarriverumc.org/about-5, or by navigating to the SERVE dropdown. We post the new signups there monthly. You can also give directly to the Meadowridge Snack Attack Mission by going here and selecting Meadowridge Library Snack Attack. This allows us to purchase any additional items we may need each month.

BPNN Birthday Bags

BPNN is short birthday bags for the children of families who come to the food pantry. Can we help provide them with more? Yes, we can! Each birthday bag should be 8"x4.25"x10.5" so that they fit on the storage shelf at BPNN. You can provide your own bag or use one from the serve table. Each bag should include the following. The soda is used in the cake recipe that will be included in the bag, This allows for the cake to be made without any eggs or cooking oil.

- one cake mix, any flavor

- one can of prepared frosting, any flavor

- 12 oz can of Sprite, Coke, or strawberry Fanta

- one package of cake candles or 12 candles in a small ziplock bag

Upcoming Events

October 8, 6:30pm - Building Beloved Community
October 8-11 - Puppetry Festival (see article above for more information)
October 14, 7:00pm - SLB Meeting
October 15, 6:30pm - Building Beloved Community
October 17, 8:00am - FSSF Meal Prep
October 18, 10:30am - Planned Giving Seminar
October 18, 10:45am - Boardgames and Belief
October 25, 10:30am - Trunk or Treat

Tuesdays, 9:30am - LOL Women's Group. Contact Laura Flood for more information.
Wednesdays, 9:00am - Share and Care Group. Contact Sharon Billmeyer for more information.
Thursdays, 6:45am - Men's Online Morning Group Contact Mike Polk for more information.
Fridays, 9:00am - Wellness Walking Group meets at Verona Library parking lot (or 9:45am at Cheesecake Factory in West Towne Mall in poor weather). Contact Arlys Nilles for more information.
Sundays, 6:30pm - Middle and High School Youth Group. Contact Tammi Hagensick for more information.

Curious about what's going on in the UMC this week?

Find all the latest happening in the Wisconsin Conference right HERE.

QR Code

Check out the SRUMC QR Code! Here you'll be able to give, check out the website and socials, see the current source, and guests can fill out a connection card.