July COMPASSION OFFERING-Casa Alitas

Casa Alitas is a non-profit, immigrant welcome center near the border in Tucson, Arizona. The compassion offering for Casa Alitas from our congregation will help people at the border find a safer, more secure life.

Casa Alitas provides a warm welcome, food, clothing, and shelter for a few days for legal asylum seekers who have crossed the border. It also makes travel arrangements for people to reach the homes of their sponsors in the United States. Casa Alitas provides services to 500 to 1,000 guests every day.

ORUCC has a hands-on history with Casa Alitas, particularly through our annual clothing drive, such as the drive ongoing now. In addition, a number of us have had the opportunity to volunteer at Casa Alitas.

Funds from the compassion offering will provide direct services to immigrant families. Funds will

• buy items for play bags for children,
• pay for transportation to reunite families who have been separated at the border,
• buy plane tickets for people to reach the homes of their sponsors in the United States, and
• pay for the food, medical services, and shelter provided by Casa Alitas. 

Thank you in advance for your contribution.

VIDEO

You can make a donation by check, on the memo line, please write “compassion” and mail to ORUCC, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711, or donate online from our website. The link is https://orucc.org/contribute/support/

Spiritual

Nourishment

for you!

For the week of July 6 – July 12

Read this week’s reflections as a way to dive deeper into your spiritual practice or to get some nourishment and inspiration

for your day.

Click Here for Reflections

We are grateful for the ministry of Jeanne Moberly who is a member of Adult Faith Formation, as she puts together a set of fresh readings every week for our devotional practice at Orchard Ridge UCC. You will see these posted daily if you are part of the “Members & Friends” Facebook group. If you know someone who needs encouragement and would like the devotional mailed to them, please contact Julie Wombacher in the church office.

Kids in the Garden

July 9th & August 6



Kids in the Garden will be offered during worship on July 9th and August 6th. This is a time for kids to learn about the joy of God’s creation as they tend the children’s veggie garden. Kids who wish to join in will begin by gathering in the worship service. All are welcome!

Join us for the Movie “The Hours” at Oakwood Village

Thursday, July 13th 7:00 PM

We hope you can join us at 7:00 on July 13th at the Oakwood Village Performance Center for “The Hours” followed by a discussion in the Dakota Room. Cindy Fillingame, Mary Loving, and Gerry Wettersten will be our discussion leaders for what promises to be an engaging evening.

“The Hours” is a 2002 American psychological drama that features Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore as three protagonists (with a superb supporting cast), each connected to the Virginia Woolf 1925 novel, “Mrs. Dalloway.” Plenty for you literary types here. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, with Kidman winning Best Actress. The screenplay is by David Hare, author of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize novel of the same name.

The plot of the film centers on the lives of three women living in three different historical moments: English novelist Virginia Woolf (Kidman) in 1923, Los Angeles housewife Laura Brown (Moore) in 1951, and New York literary editor Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) in 2003. Three distinct women separated by history, class and culture. But different? While the Streep and Moore characters are fictional, Kidman’s Virginia Woolf is largely true-to-life.

The main themes, always open to interpretation, have to do with the life-defining issues that these women face and how each comes to grips with their realty. How does one define oneself? What role do others, in particular those we are closest to, play in this? How do we reconcile our desires and disappointments when the course of our lives doesn’t meet our expectations? Do men and women do this differently? All are welcome!                      

Mark Your Calendars for these presentations on Palestinian Justice!

July 16, July 23 & July 30

9:00 – 9:50 am

Friendship Hall

Join ORUCC’s study of the UCC Resolution “Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel”

In July 2021, delegates to UCC General Synod 31 voted overwhelmingly to approve a groundbreaking Resolution of Witness titled, “Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel.” Adoption of this resolution marked the first time a mainline Christian denomination officially labeled Israel’s military occupation of Palestine as an apartheid system. 

During this three-week study, we will examine the definition of apartheid under international law, and the rationale for using this word as it applies to the State of Israel. As well, we will examine Biblical, theological and historical factors which create urgency for our response as Christians. 

Leading this study are Diane Dulin and Tom Beilman, who recently served on the Steering Committee of the UCC Palestine-Israel Network.

Friday Breakfast Group

Friday, July 7, 8:30

The next Friday Breakfast is set for July 7 at 8:30 am at Denny’s, 433 S. Gammon Road. All are welcome! The group meets on the first Friday of the month and includes both men and women. Join us for this informal chance to connect and converse on many topics. Contact Louise Jeanne, Link for more information.

Women’s Book Group

Thursday, July 6, 1:30

Join the ORUCC Women’s Book Group on Thursday, July 6 from 1:30 to 3pm to discuss Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham. Leslie Rebhorn will lead our discussion. A Zoom link will be sent. If you are interested in joining our group, please email Deanna Blanchard at [email protected].

Faith Community Sign-on – A Call for

a Just and Humane Immigration System

The Dane Sanctuary Coalition is asking members of the faith community to sign on to a press release calling on the Biden Administration and our elected leaders to create a just and humane immigration system. We are asking for faith-based organizations, judicatories, clergy, congregations, and individual people of faith to sign on to the statement.

The statement will be released to the media in a press conference on July 19 at 10:00am at Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ, 1501 Gilbert Rd, Madison, WI 53711. 

Read the statement here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/160U1tlaR3uZQZodb9_iTIulfrCUAYLg4/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104207953247701038504&rtpof=true&sd=true. Please use this form to sign on. 

For questions, please contact Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, Executive Director, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, 608-513-7121, [email protected]. 

Please respond by July 14.

Thank you all for your commitment to immigrant justice!

Youth Newsletter

Looking for the Youth Newsletter on the website? Click on the

LINK

We will try to get a more obvious link to it posted on the website soon!

Moderator’s June Update

from Hal Evensen, ORUCC Moderator



 Moderator Hal Evensen wanted to update the congregation on what the Leadership Team (lay leadership) has been up to. Here are some highlights:



•  We approved the recommendation by the Care of Creation team for non-disposable name tags for our congregation! Many thanks to Jill Westberg and the CC team – they will be putting information out on this, soon!

• We agreed to join an effort led by the Dane County Emergency Management (DCEM) Office and Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice to create a database of congregations who may be able to provide support for short-term (<24 hours) emergency shelter. The need, as outlined by DCEM, could include severe weather events, large power outages, an active shooter situation or other crisis situations. Unlike our congregation’s previous (recent) experience with providing shelter, this would be to meet short term needs, with the American Red Cross (ARC) and DCEM taking the lead on logistics (food, clothing, transportation, etc.). Further, the Dane County Executive, Joe Parisi, has allotted $10,000 per year for this program to cover costs that may incur (such as cleaning). We are assembling a team to collaborate on completing the form, which will populate a database that ARC and DCEM will use to help coordinate their emergency response. There is also a need for volunteers – staffing phones, running errands, childcare – that could arise even if our building isn’t needed. If interested, see the form at this link (scroll down) – and let us know if you are willing to be listed as a volunteer! https://forms.gle/jSfiMBs5pmygJi1dA

•  With the support of Leadership Team, Pastor Julia is working with Charles Tubbs, Director of Dane County Emergency Management, to create an opportunity this fall for emergency preparedness training in our church. We will be reaching out to other congregations who have done this, to gather best practices ahead of our implementation.

• We considered an invitation to join Awaken Dane’s 2023 cohort [https://awakendane.org]. This is an opportunity for a team from our congregation to deepen spiritual practice and to help grow discernment tools. We felt that this was a valuable opportunity but that the timeline was too short to find a team of interested individuals. The project will be around for at least a couple more years, and we have penciled in the 2024 cohort… if interested, please reach out!

We are working to help ORUCC live into its vision statement to be Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, and Committed to Justice and invite everyone to please feel free to reach out to any of the moderators ([email protected]) or leadership team member (see the color poster on the bulletin board) with any questions, comments, suggestions, or offerings of support!  

Casa Alitas Clothing Drive June-July 2023

Yes, it’s time to bag up those clothes that you haven’t worn for a while, let go of them, and let us transport them to the border to people who so desperately need them.

The Immigration Justice Team will collect clothing the last week of June (beginning June 25) and the first two weeks of July. Drop off clothes on Sundays in Friendship Hall or in the Anne Frank Room of the Education Wing.



What to bring?

General Guidelines

o  All clothing needs to be washed.

o  Casual summer and non-bulky winter clothing

o  No sox or underwear

o  Shoes are a big yes, esp. flip flops, sandals or tennies

S, M, L (not XL) men’s clothing

o  Jeans, jeans and more jeans

• Waist 28” to 34”; Length 27” to 32”

o  Shirts (love sports-themed shirts)

o  Belts (small)

o  Caps; jackets; sweaters

S, M, L (not XL) women’s clothing

o  Jeans, pants and leggings (“lycra”)

o  Tops and jackets; sweaters

o  No blouses

Children’s clothing

o  Toddler through 16

Consider joining us as we box up the clothing. If interested, please contact Ruthanne Landsness, [email protected]; 608/234-2882. We have a great time. Thank you!

Purchase Cards on the table

in the Crossroads each Sunday Morning!

Updated Masking Policy

In response to recent declines in COVID infection numbers and a steady low level of local community spread, the ORUCC COVID Response Team has updated the masking policy:

• Masking is optional throughout the building
• Those with symptoms of illness should refrain from entering the building
• Individual decisions to mask or not mask are to be respected
• This policy may be revised with changes in infection number or levels of community spread 

AT ORUCC, the Members

are the Ministers!

We are seeking volunteers to serve on Sunday mornings for in-person worship. You need not be a member, simply a person who loves ORUCC and is eager to find

a place to serve!

Young people are welcome to sign up too!

Would you consider serving one or more times as

a Coffee Maker, a Welcomer, a Lay Liturgist or

to assist with Holy Communion?

It has been fairly easy finding Lay Liturgists and Communion Assistants, but much more challenging finding

Coffee-Makers and Welcomers!

For outdoor worship on July 16th, we need volunteers to set-up and tear-down chairs and tents.

Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!

Click here to sign up as a Coffee Maker

Click here to sign up as a Welcomer

Click here to sign up as a Lay Liturgist

Click here to assist with Holy Communion

Click here to set-up and/or tear-down for Outdoor Worship

After selecting one or more dates, you will need to click “Submit and Sign Up” at the bottom of the page, then enter your name & email address, then click “Sign Up Now.”

Questions or problems signing up?

Contact Ken Pennings at [email protected] or 608-556-2371.

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

1501 Gilbert Road

Madison, WI 53711

608-271-7212

Office Hours: M-Th 8:30-12:30