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Hen House Weekly E-News
January 2, 2026
Why Hen House? The friendly chatter before Worship on Sundays reminds us of a Hen House! Since Jesus identified himself as a Mother Hen and, as an historical farm church, we enjoy being God's ‘Hen House’ and welcome everyone (town, urban, and rural) to our Worship and other programs - and invite you to even make Zwingli your Church home. The United Church of Christ values all people!
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Happy New Year! and Epiphany Blessings!
It's hard to believe we are now in 2026! It's also hard to believe the Christmas Season will soon be over and we will be in the Church Season of Epiphany! I love this season because it is all about the revealing of God's Light to the World! The story which begins this season is the story of those magi who studied the stars and followed a star until it led them to Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12)! Matthew is the only Gospel which tells us the story of the magi (wise men, kings). Did you know that scripture doesn't tell us the number of magi? I appreciated that Kevin Costner's, The First Christmas, showed a crowd of magi visiting Jesus (scene is at 1 hr 13 min)! It also revealed that these Magi didn't appear until Jesus was about two years old. In many ways this telling of the story was more accurate to the Biblical and historical contexts than our traditional telling often is.
When I found the above image (by James Tissot circa 1894) on the globalworship.tumblr.com website, I discovered this quote which gives us much to reflect on -- and a comforting reminder that the Light shines in the darkness of our world throughout the centuries calling us all to follow the star, the Light:
“The Epiphany text begins with these words: ‘In the time of King Herod.’ Most of history has been 'in the time of King Herod.’ And if not the time of Herod, then the time of Pharaoh, the time of Nebuchadnezzar, the time of Caesar, the time of Nero, all the way into modern times—the time of Hitler and Mussolini, of Franco and Salazar, of Pinochet and Putin. It’s true that most of history has been lived in the time of tyrant kings. But the gospel also tells us that since the birth of Jesus, heaven has been invading the time of tyrant kings.” - Rev. Brian Zahnd
We will explore the story of the Magi in Worship on Sunday and just what it might mean for us today. For now, I share with you this Epiphany prayer by John van de Laar (sacredise.com):
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It’s always been about the light with you,
hasn’t it, Jesus?
Magi, braving distance and desert to find you,
and bewildered shepherds, compelled by an angel’s invitation,
allowed light to be their guide,
And it is still the light that calls us to you;
the light of beauty that whispers its truth
in surprising ways and places;
the light of compassion that kneels,
and washes road-soiled, life-battered feet;
the light of joy that glows
even in the darkness of grief and suffering;
the light that seeks to shine within us,
and through us into the dark corners of our world.
It’s always been about the light with you, Jesus;
and it’s always about the light for us.
Please lead us, now and always, out of darkness
and into your marvellous light.
Amen.
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Prayer List
Today, we invite you to keep in prayer:
Those suffering from drought, famine, accidents, fires, storms, flooding, tornados, excessive heat, violence, homelessness, illness, war in their communities.
Nations in crisis: Nigeria, U.S. - Venezuela tensions, Afghanistan, Haiti, Sudan, The Congo, Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. Prayers for those countries, farmers, companies and consumers who are affected by the escalating trade war. The people of Pine Ridge Reservation and all Native Peoples.
For wise, compassionate leadership in our Executive, legislative and judicial branches of govt, and citizen action. For Civil Servants, immigrants, international students, and others facing uncertainty under the policies of the new administration and now under this government shutdown.
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Jan. 4 - Worship with Holy Communion; Friendship Time following the service
Jan. 21 - Brunch Bunch at River Ville Grill, 10:30 am
Jan. 25 - As usual, our Annual Meeting will be held after worship on the last Sunday of January, the 25th. Please mark your calendars! We will have annual reports ready for you by Sunday, January 11.
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Liturgists needed for January
If you can help out, please sign up on the clipboard in the narthex.
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Friendship Time in need of Volunteers!
Many thanks to all those who have been bringing refreshments and making coffee for our first Sunday Friendship Time after Worship! Some of our regular volunteers are unable to volunteer right now. So we are hoping that the other regular volunteers and a few others will step up to host Friendship Time. Jan 4 and the other first Sundays of 2026 are still waiting for a volunteer. If you can do Jan 4, please let Pastor Karla know asap. There is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board for the other months. Thank you!
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Seven Acre Dairy's 2026 Guest Chef Residencies
will feature five guest chefs. One of the events will be:
The Wisconsin Farmstead Tasting Experience
Thursday, January 22, 2026 5:00 PM
One of the guest residencies will feature Rob Connoley who will craft a grand family-style feast that represents his curious and creative take on the region’s church and community cookbooks, all done in the spirit of a Sunday Supper. Rob contacted Zwingli for our cookbook recipes so maybe he'll use a Zwingli recipe! Debbie Versnik has shared our cookbooks with him.
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For more information on how to get tickets for this event, go here. For info on all the events, click on the link in the title of this article. Pictures are of the two cookbooks Zwingli has published.
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We didn't get many pictures this Advent. But here are the few we did get! Many thanks to Debbie for taking some during Worship.
Advent this year began with a winter storm! So our Hanging of the Greens party was cancelled (as was Church Service that Sunday) but many thanks to volunteers who came in and decorated the church: Kriss Ace, Michelle Tollefson, Petra Streiff, Larry Stuessy, and Louise and Larry Brunkow!
Many thanks to those who purchased poinsettias and to Kriss for picking them up for us. If you still haven't picked yours up, please do in the coming weeks. If you haven't yet paid Kriss, please contact her.
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New, used Christmas tree needed
If you or anyone you know has a large artificial tree that you don't need, we would like it for the church. The one we have sheds a lot of needles every year and they're very hard to pick up (a ton of static makes them stick to everything!). Thanks for checking!
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Weather Cancellations this Winter
It's winter in Wisconsin so we want to remind you that if the weather looks bad, be sure to check your email or FB (Zwingli UCC - Paoli) on Sunday mornings. We will send out an email or post a message by 8 am on Sunday. We do have a list of those who don't have access to email or FB and prefer a text or phone call (if you aren't sure if you are on this list, please contact our pastor to check).
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Respiratory Virus Season is Here!
While the Dane County Public Health Dept says respiratory illness are low right now, the UW Covid hotline says they are getting more calls since September. The Public Health Dept has limited knowledge of illnesses. So we are definitely in the season of respiratory illness. Take good care of yourselves and if you are feeling ill, take proper precautions to get the medical help you need and to prevent spreading what you have! This dashboard is updated every Thursday with the information they do have: https://publichealthmdc.com/your-health/respiratory-illness/dashboard
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Opportunities for Citizen Advocacy through letters to Congress
The United Church of Christ offers us the opportunity to learn more about bills before Congress and voice our opinions to our legislators. They make it very easy to send an email. Check out the many topics on their page: https://www.ucc.org/action-center/. The most recent ones are: This Advent, take action to prevent Israeli Settlement Construction in the West Bank; Urge Congress to Stand Up Against Gun Violence; and Affordable Healthcare for All: Extend ACA Tax Credits! Scroll down the page to find others that you might want to express your opinion about.
| | The Southern Region of the Wisconsin Conference UCC publishes Shalom, a monthly e-newsletter featuring events and happenings within the Conference, including Zwingli. Click here to check it out! | | | | |
