A member of St. Stephens UCC in Merrill is at the center of an effort to ship donated hay to farmers in a region of North Carolina that was devastated two weeks ago by Hurricane Helene.

Todd Frederick, owner of a manufacturing company in Merrill, got involved after learning from a friend who operates a dairy and cattle farm near Ashville, North Carolina, that Helene had destroyed crops in the area. The friend and his fellow farmers need hay to sustain their livestock.

St. Stephens posted a plea for donated hay to social media, and Todd went to work on the logistics, arranging for trucks to haul it to the affected farmers. The response? “It’s been wild,” said St. Stephens’ pastor, the Rev. Mike Southcombe.

Merrill isn’t the only place where a UCC church has been a catalyst for hurricane relief efforts. Across the Wisconsin Conference, individuals and congregations are rallying to provide aid to the tens of thousands of people in the Southeast coping with hurricanes’ aftermath.

Conference appeal: The Wisconsin Conference is accepting donations to support the recovery efforts in the Southeast in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Funds donated to the Conference will be forwarded to Church World Service. Donate today to the Conference appeal or to the Merrill haylift.

Bucket brigade: New Conference Disaster Coordinator Bridget Hill, pastor of New Horizon UCC in Kewaskum, is spearheading an effort by congregations to assemble cleanup and hygiene kits for Church World Service to distribute to parts of the Southeast devastated by hurricanes Helene and Milton. She announced the initiative last week in an email to the Conference. The kits are directly address the public health challenges that follow this type of disaster, including waterborne illnesses and bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. Read Bridget’s letter for more details.

Blessing the buckets: The Rev. Ashley Nolte, pastor of Pilgrim UCC in Grafton, composed a Litany of Blessing for congregations assembling cleanup buckets and hygiene kits. View or download the blessing in Word or as a PDF.

By the numbers: As of Friday afternoon, Church World Service had provided 4,372 emergency cleanup buckets, 8,720 hygiene kits, 5,890 blankets, 1,205 menstrual hygiene kits, 590 school kits, and 72 welcome backpacks to hurricane-ravaged communities. These items are critical for recovery, offering comfort and helping families rebuild their lives.

If you’re a church leader looking to expand cultural competency and examine the ways race and power are present in ministry, sign up for one of the fall or winter cohorts of Animating Antiracism in Faith Formation, a webinar series developed for the United Church of Christ Network of Wider Church Youth Ministries by Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training.

The program seeks to equip participants with shared language and frameworks that will assist them in their ministry and build capacity to both identify and disrupt the church's collusion with white supremacy and systemic racism. It’s designed for pastors, faith formation leaders, youth leaders, and other who wish to build cultural competency. The program is being offered to leaders across the UCC, and participants will have the added benefit of networking with peers from a variety of conference and ministry settings.



Learn more and register.

The Palestine Justice Working Group asked us to call your attention to two more resources for learning about the conflict in the Middle East. Both come from Mark Braverman, a Jewish-American Palestinian rights activist who serves as executive director of Kairos USA, an organization that works to mobilize American Christians – lay, academic and clergy – to take a prophetic stance for a just peace in response to the pleas of Palestinian Christians. 



“On the Bible and Zionism” is a half-hour interview with Braverman available on YouTube that grapples with the question of how to reconcile the biblical texts promising the land to the descendants of Abraham with the call of the Palestinian Christians for sharing the land of Palestine. “The Jewish People, Zionism, and the Question of Justice” is an article Braverman wrote for his own website. Both are good resources for congregations engaging the issue of a just peace in advance of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Conference.

The UCC’s Faith Education, Innovation and Formation Team – better known as Faith INFO – will host Reset for Renewal, an online learning opportunity for individuals engaged in children’s ministry on Nov. 19 and 20. Cost for the virtual gathering is $10.

The event will include study, reflection, leadership development and worship. A diverse group of theologians, authors and local church practitioners will conduct workshops that will provide extra tools for leading ministries in the 21st century. Registration deadline for virtual attendees is Nov. 15. Register today.

Daycholah Center will host high schoolers and college-age young adults for the annual Winter Soulstice Retreat from Jan. 24-26. It’s a chance to press pause on the stress of school life and enjoy a weekend of relaxation and fellowship, plus some winter camp excitement that will recharge your spirits and take your faith journey to new heights. Andra Moran, a Wisconsin Conference favorite, will lead the weekend’s music and worship.



Discounted registration is available through Dec. 8. Learn more and register.

Supportive Ministries conversation

The Supportive Ministries Team offers two opportunities each month to join a discussion on topics raised in its monthly Becoming the Beloved Community newsletter. The next conversations will take place by Zoom at noon and 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7. Subscribe to the newsletter.

Register here for the noon discussion

Register here for the 7:00 p.m. discussion

November Ministry Roundtable: A post-election check-in

We know that this election season has been an intense time for pastors and lay leaders alike, and that the weeks and months to come will continue to pose challenges. Join with colleagues for a time of reflection, sharing, prayer and mutual support. Everyone is welcome – clergy, laypeople and anyone with an interest in the topic.

Time: 4 p.m.

Date: Nov. 6

Register now

Local Church Profile system training

Following the launch this spring of the digital local church profile portal, MESA continues to offer monthly general orientations to the new system for search committees. Church staff members are welcome to attend trainings, too. Email the Rev. Jeff Nelson, minister for ministerial calls and transitions with questions. The training schedule for the rest of the year:

Time: 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Date: Nov. 6

Register now

Palestine Justice Working Group

The Wisconsin Conference work group educates UCC members about the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations and advocates for justice for all Palestinians. The group meets by Zoom on the fourth Monday of each month. Meetings are open to all.

Time: 7 p.m.  

Date: Oct. 28 

Register now

Sermon talk

Join Associate Conference Minister Michael Jones for a Zoom discussion of biblical texts and sermon ideas, with the focus on topics for the month ahead. Whether you use the Revised Common Lectionary or the Narrative Lectionary or choose your own texts, this discussion is for you. Sessions take place at noon on the first Tuesday of each month.

Time: Noon

Date: Nov. 5

Register now

Faith Formation Retreats

Registration is now open for all three Youth Faith Formation Retreats planned for 2024-2025. Retreats will take place at Daycholah Center on the weekends of Nov. 8-10, Feb. 21-23 and Feb. 28-March 2. We offer the same retreat three times so that more young people can participate. Our planning team is creating a retreat that focuses on sacred space, sacred rituals and worship. We will have opportunities to explore Daycholah Center, engage in some fun and games, and hang out with old and new friends.

Register for the Nov. 8-10 retreat

Register for the Feb. 21-23 retreat

Register for the Feb. 28- March 2 retreat

Virtual boundary training for retired ministers

Maintaining healthy boundaries is challenging at any stage in ministry and it is particularly tender and difficult attending to boundaries as we transition out of our last call, and while in retirement. The Revs. Tara Barber and Melanie Oommen will offer this focused Boundary Awareness Training for those entering and living in retirement. This training meets the Wisconsin Conference Commission on Church and Ministry requirements for boundary training for authorized ministers. 

Time: 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Date: Nov. 13

Register now

Small church leadership gathering

Join the conversation on the fourth Tuesday of very month to share your thoughts on the unique, challenging and rewarding ministries already happening in small congregations. We hope to hear from you what smaller congregations need to thrive.

Date: Oct 22 

Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Place: Zoom

Register here

Save the date

Annual Meeting 2025: June 6-7 at Green Lake Conference Center

The Conference has created a bulletin insert detailing the ways in which gifts to Our Church's Wider Mission Basic Support make a real difference in the life of congregations across our state. Please share the bulletin insert in an upcoming worship service or e-newsletter to members of your congregation.

Bulletin insert (PDF)

Hurricane Helene image from National Guard via Wikimedia Commons.

This newsletter is made possible by contributions to Our Church's Wider Mission Basic Support.

The Wisconsin Conference UCC is an Open and Affirming Conference, and an Immigrant Welcoming Conference.

Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ

W1000 Spring Grove Road, Ripon, WI 54971

mail@wcucc.org

www.wcucc.org