Sunday Morning Faith Formation for Children and Youth

Nursery care opens for children 1st grade and younger beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays. We have two new nursery care workers: Najma and Abby. Both are nursing students at UW-Madison. Stop by to say hi!

Children and Youth Faith Formation for all ages is at 9:00 a.m. We are making the switch from using the language “Sunday School” to “Faith Formation” to more accurately reflect our hopes for this hour of time together on Sunday mornings.

For children Pre-K to 6th grade: Spring 2024, the children brainstormed a name to better represent our 9 am faith formation hour. The name they created is, “Peace Circle.” Most of our curriculum has a “Peace” element. Peace for the world, for each other, and for ourselves. “Circle” reflects that we are gathering together, usually in the shape of a circle. This fall’s Peace Circle guides are: Joanna Beilman-Dulin, Josie Gasser, Julie Horton, Karen Jaehnig, Kristin Schumacher, Maddie Miller, and Jill Westberg.

For Youth (7th grade-High School): This fall we will have an exploration of five major faith traditions. We hope to learn about the beauty and value of other faiths, while also learning more about our own faith tradition of Christianity in interfaith dialogue. Approximately once-a-month, we will have “Breakfast Club,” an opportunity for fellowship and meaningful conversation. Our guides this year are Kristian Muckian, Susan Jane Watson, and Al Blanchard.

Music Opportunities continue to be a highlight of our Sunday programming. Music Connections for children 2nd-6th grade meets during the 10:00 worship hour, after children’s time. TRU Function, our youth band, rehearses from 10:00-noon, with the intent to lead congregational worship monthly. Julie Mazer leads Music Connections, and Rob Martens directs TRU Function.

It is going to be another great year in Children and Youth ministries! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Pastor Kate ([email protected]) or Julie Mazer ([email protected]) at any time.

October Compassion Offering:  

The ORUCC Thanksgiving Year-Round Fund

ORUCC has a long tradition of supporting our social services partners in their work with neighbors in need. Post pandemic and the end of federal CARES funds have left some of our neediest ORUCC neighbors struggling to keep up with inflationary food prices and skyrocketing rent increases.   

Established in 2020, the ORUCC Thanksgiving Year-Round Fund helps support our neighbors with Woodman’s gift cards distributed by staff from Joining Forces for Families (JFF), Commonwealth Development (CWD), and Early Childhood Development (ECD). There is now a need to replenish this fund to continue this vital support.  

ORUCC member Loretta Swanson and Community Social Worker, Eric Alvin are our lead social services team who distribute the gift cards to other neighborhood case workers. Loretta reports how a $20-$50 gift card can help a family through the holiday season and beyond:   

• To cover the cost of extra food needed while children are home during holiday breaks
• To help pay for gas to allow a parent to travel for a job or for an interview

These gift cards help in so many ways. Please consider a donation to the Thanksgiving Year-Round Fund to provide direct support to families and individuals in our neighborhood.

Thank you in advance for your donation to benefit the ORUCC Thanksgiving Year-Round Fund as our October Compassion Offering recipient. This video shares more info.

Your donation is truly appreciated, this 2024 holiday season and beyond. 

HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY HURRICANE HELENE

The Wisconsin Conference UCC has launched an appeal to support recovery efforts in the Southeast following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Funds donated to the Conference will be forwarded to Church World Service. Give today

Women’s Book Group this afternoon, October 3rd

Happy fall, readers! Please join us this afternoon, Thursday, October 3rd at 1:30pm as Leslie Rebhorn leads us in discussion of Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. We will meet in person at church in the Alfred Swan room as well as on Zoom. Looking ahead to November, Joyce Pohl will facilitate our discussion of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Please email Deanna Blanchard to be added to the Book Group email list [email protected].

Friday Breakfast Group – October 4th

The next Friday Breakfast is set for tomorrow, October 4th 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.

Wellness Yoga classes start Friday, October 4th

Mary Landeck, who is active in ORUCC, has arranged for free yoga classes to be offered in Fellowship Hall Fridays from 9:00 – 10:00 am during October. It is an all-levels series with an emphasis on listening to your own body.

Linda Gorchels (RYS.200) will weave introductory vinyasa, somatic, and yin yoga to provide gentle movements, sequenced flows, deep stretches, and mindful wellness. You’ll re-educate your muscles to ease pain, reclaim mobility, and lessen stress. Keep in mind any personal injuries or limitations and consult with your physician before signing up.

Please bring a yoga mat, two yoga blocks, a small hand towel, and an open heart. Snatch an extra sweatshirt or even a cozy throw for savasana.

Each session is limited to 15 people, with registration online through Sign Up Genius. There is no charge to establish an account to register on Sign Up Genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B45ADAB22A6FFC07-49664273-wellness)

Please let Linda know if you have any questions. As noted above, there is no charge for either the class or to register through the Sign Up Genius website.

Meet after worship this Sunday on

the ORUCC Mission Trip to the Border

(January 15 – 19, 2025)

¡Vámonos a la frontera! Let’s go to the border!

Come join us in Friendship Hall after worship, Sunday, October 6, 2024, for updates on the border trip itinerary, costs and transportation. And, yes, we’ll perfect a few words in Spanish!

If you’re not able to be there in person, please contact Ruthanne Landsness, [email protected], 608/234-2882.

¡Muchas gracias!

Youth Service Trip 2025 Meeting

October 13, 11:15 a.m.

 

Any youth and their guardians who are interested in Service Trip 2025 are asked to attend this meeting after worship on Oct. 13. Youth entering 8th grade summer 2025 to those just graduating from High School are eligible for the trip. We will discuss trip particulars, fundraising needs, and make some decisions together!

 Flicker Wild Church

Save the Date—looking ahead our next two gatherings will be held at and in collaboration with the Farley Center for Peace, Justice & Sustainability. We will gather under the mother oak at the entrance to their Natural Path Sanctuary, as our “Wild Wander” moment will involve the trails that wind through their innovative, inspiring, and deeply earth-honoring green/natural burial grounds. We will meet there on Samhain, November 1, and on the Winter Solstice, December 21, likely at 4pm. 

New Growth—we’ve been working on a new website this summer! We are also excited to share that we have received fiscal sponsorship/ 501(c)3 status through Mission.Earth—tax deductible donations are live now, but stay tuned for emerging plans for a fun fundraising event. We are also in conversation and discernment with the Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ as a new church start! Our dream is one in which Wild Churches like Flicker are as completely legitimate, self-organizing/self-sustaining, and ultimately impactful in holding space for transformative encounter as any “indoor church” or traditional spiritual community. I remain more convinced than ever that the Earth (ecosystems, climate, biodiversity) is calling out for more nature-honoring human spiritualities to pop up like mushrooms and flourish, and so we’d love to invite you all to continue with us in this journey of dreaming big for a vibrant year and years ahead for Flicker Wild Church!

Yours wildly,

Daniel, Julia, Reverie & Kindred 

Come sing with us–join our Choir!

All singers are welcome to join our Choir! Rehearsals are Wednesday

evenings from 7:00 to 8:30pm. We sing in worship the first and third

Sundays of the month, gathering for rehearsal 9am those Sunday mornings.

Please share your voice with a group of music-loving friendly people! For more information, email Bruce Gladstone at [email protected].

Seeking landscape volunteers!

We need to gather people interested in the landscape at ORUCC, make plans for future plantings and manage work in the flower gardens. Please join us on Sunday, September 29th after the 10:00 am worship service to contribute your input and ideas. Contact Joyce Pohl at [email protected] with questions, or if you have ideas and cannot attend the meeting.

Click here to sign up as a landscape volunteer.

October 8th program: White Christian Nationalism and Project 2025: What Do We Do Now?

The Faithful Stance for Equity program “White Christian Nationalism and Project 2025: What Do We Do Now?” will be Tuesday, October 8 at 6:30 pm on Zoom. Breanna Illéné from the Wisconsin Council of Churches will review the ideological parallels between White Christian Nationalism and Project 2025, a current news story. It looks like a really engaging evening, especially in terms of enabling us to explain why White Christian nationalism is more than just a theoretical theological concern.  Faithful Stance for Equity is a statewide project of the Wisconsin Council of Churches, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, the WISDOM network, and others. Registration link is

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudO6rrDsvHda7Z6h4pLABMzkUfdvsZ9QX#/registration

Lunch & Learn

Wednesday, October 9th 

Effigy Mounds

On Wednesday October 9^th we will welcome Amy Rosebrough, Archeologist, for the Wisconsin Historical Society to Lunch and Learn.  She will speak about Wisconsin effigy mounds.  Rosebrough has substantial experience in Wisconsin’s and the Midwestern United States’ archaeology scene, and her work has spanned public, private and educational sectors of archaeology, including within the Wisconsin Archeological Society and Archaeological Research, Inc. Rosebrough is regarded as one of the top experts on Wisconsin’s effigy mounds, cultivating her expertise through a commitment to continuous field work as well as the development of her doctoral dissertation titled “Every Family a Nation” and co-authoring the book “Indian Mounds of Wisconsin.” She is also an active educator, giving frequent talks and presentations to share her archaeological knowledge with people of all ages.

Please join us.  All are welcome.  We will see you Wednesday, October 9th at 11:30.  The meal donation is $10.  Please email Doug Piper with your RSVP.  We need the count for the Hospitality Team!   [email protected]

Spiritual

Nourishment

for you!



For October 3 – 9

Now that summer is over, we have returned to our regular format of providing Daily Reflections on a weekly basis.

Daily Reflections: October 3- 9

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. If you know someone who needs encouragement and would like the devotional mailed to them, please contact the church office.

Wayfinding 2024-2025

”Wayfinding: The Soul Tasks of Aging: Toward a Theology of the Elder Years” will continue the next program year with brand new themes and programming, beginning October 16, 2024 from 9:30 to 11 am in Friendship Hall, and meeting every 3rd Wednesday of the month then on ZOOM the following Thursday from 4:00 to 5:15 pm.

Two books to focus on:

We will begin with Parker Palmer’s book, “On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity & Getting Old” for the first 4 sessions and then the remaining 4 in the Spring will be themed around Connie Zweig’s book, “The Inner Work of Aging: Shifting from Role to Soul.”

Sign Up to Volunteer on Sunday Mornings Now Through the End of

October 2024!

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, an Usher, a Lay Liturgist or

to assist with Holy Communion?

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 an Usher

Click here to sign up as a Lay Liturgist

Click here to assist with Holy Communion

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