Weekly Announcements

Orchard Ridge UCC on January 27, 2022

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice

Here are our weekly announcements for 1/27/2022:

Hello friends! Welcome to our weekly announcements.

Our COVID Response Team met on January 9th and recommended we pause our in-person worship gatherings for the month of January due to the high community transmission of the Omicron COVID variant.

We will still gather in spirit and will utilize a combination of ZOOM worship and live-streaming in the sanctuary, based on COVID exposure and best judgement of worship leaders that week. We will share this information in weekly worship resources email on Saturdays.

We trust our mitigation systems and know we will be back in the sanctuary and with children’s programming soon, especially when the hospitals in Madison are less full.

Here is the LINK for details and protocols for Back-to-Church when we do return to in-person, which we hope to do on February 6th.

This is our week at a Glance:

Live-streamed Sunday Worship

Sunday, Jan 30

10:00 – 11:00 am

Preaching: Julia Burkey

Details in Saturday’s Worship Resources

There is no 9:00 Sunday School for children

and youth and no Children’s Music

Connections this Sunday, January 30.

We hope to regather on February 6.

No Java & Jesus 1/30 or 2/6

Returning Feb 13

Racial Justice Mission Team

Thursday, Feb 3

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Pam Oliver

Zoom

Women’s Book Group

Thursday, Feb 3

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Jan Christian

Zoom

Meditation Group

Friday, Feb 4

9:00 – 10:00 am

Sue Dixon

Zoom

Daily Devotional from

the Ministry of Adult

Faith Formation

Readings will be posted daily to the “Members & Friends” Facebook group and will be available each week in the link below. If you are checking on on someone who doesn’t have email and would like the readings mailed to them, please contact Julie Wombacher in the office.

Jan 27 – Feb 2

January Compassion Offering

LGBT Books to Prisoners

LGBT Books to Prisoners, based in Madison, WI, sends books and other educational materials, free of charge, to incarcerated LGBTQ people across the United States. We have been doing this for over 10 years and have sent books to over 10,000 people in that time.

We do this because:

We want to acknowledge, and work against, the oppressive functions of the prison system. Our project shifts some control back into incarcerated people’s hands.
Incarcerated people have little access to reading material, and LGBTQ people behind bars have a particularly hard time finding resources that meet their needs and wants. We are in a position to gather and distribute these resources.
We believe that our work affirms the dignity of all individuals by providing access to knowledge of their choosing, so that they can learn and grow as they desire. We respond to individuals’ requests as directly as possible.
LGBTQ people behind bars face many hardships, including — but not limited to — isolation and physical violence. We want them to know that they have a supportive community on the outside that cares about their wellbeing.

We are completely volunteer run. We host volunteer sessions every week where we respond to letters from incarcerated people requesting books. We respond with a personal note, along with books that best match their request. When asked for, we also help connect people to other resources, such as pen pals, legal services, etc. Our volunteer sessions are a welcoming space for the LGBTQ community and allies to work together to work towards abolition, racial justice, and to affirm the LGBTQ community.

We would use the offering to pay for postage. On average it costs about $5 to send about three books to someone in prison. We typically send 3,000 book packages a year.

Learn more at lgbtbookstoprisoners.org

Thank you for your generosity and for helping those who have helped us in our times of need.

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 at orucc.org. Click the brown button “Contribute” in the upper right of the home page.

Women’s Book Group

On Thursday, February 3 from 1:30-3:00 p.m., book group will meet via Zoom to choose 10 books to read in 2022. Propose a book or two that you think would be good for discussion. If you would like to join us but are not on our previous list, please contact Jan Christian for more information ([email protected] or 827-0500).

Annual Meeting

February 6 following worship

More info to follow

Click here for a printed version Annual Report, or on our website LINK

Save the date!

Celebration of Tammy Martens’ Ministry

August 6, 2022

Stay tuned for more details and times.

If you have questions or suggestions please contact

Ann Evensen [email protected] cell 608 628 4280

Barbara Stretchberry [email protected] cell 608-239-6669

Kellie Miller [email protected] cell 608 852-7578

Racial Justice Mission Team

The racial justice mission team is wondering what type of programming ORUCC members would like us to plan. Please click on this link to take a short survey about your interests, or copy/paste this link into your browser: https://forms.gle/RZ4bfdYFoF5MBv1i7

Volunteer Needed to Help

Prepare for Worship

We’re thrilled to be returning to in-person worship AND to continue virtual worship. To do both, however, is stretching us thin in certain areas. If you feel comfortable working with Word documents and creating PowerPoints, we could really use a rotation of volunteers (each preparing for only 1 Sunday a month) to get ready for both in-person and virtual worship. We now have 2 volunteers, and are looking for one more. Contact Ken Pennings at [email protected], or 608-556-2371 if this may interest you.

Governor Dodge Camping

In August we will return to Governor Dodge State Park for hiking, swimming, kayaking, campfires….but mostly for a chance to be together. I’m hoping you can join us for the weekend or just for the day. Any questions, please contact me at [email protected]. If you think you might go, please let me know so I can keep you in the loop.

August 12-14 at Governor Dodge State Park, Cox Hollow Campground. (I’m at site 65, so reserve close to there), reserve on-line via LINK or call at 1-888-947-2757.

Reserve a spot soon, because they book up quickly.

Soul of Aging – 3 part online retreat series

Beginning January 28-30, 2022

“The act of living and dying is a mystery to me. I’ve heard others refer to the “art” of living and dying. I wish to live with grace and gratitude through the mystery of each day…creating a canvas of colors, bold and bright; mellow and muted. Perhaps I’ll look back and be able to say I did not just live a life, I created a life, an imperfect work, rich and beautiful. How do I stay present to what is, rather than what might have been or what might be? How do I become like this weathered beauty resting magnificently along the shore?”

Kirstin Anglea and Winton Boyd will lead others in exploring these questions and more during our upcoming Soul of Aging retreat series online again in 2022.

Follow this link for more information and registration: https://couragerenewal.org/…/the-soul-of-aging-a…/

Friday Breakfast Group-Date Change

Friday Breakfast Group hopes to return to monthly gatherings March 4, 2022, 8:30 a.m. at Denny’s, 433 S. Gammon Road. Although originally for women, the group has for many years included a popular men’s table as well. Open to all, it is informal and a chance to connect and converse on many topics. Please join us. Contact Louise Jeanne, [email protected], for more information.

Pictorial Directory

Thanks to all those who helped with the pictorial directory. Here is a print version. Photo Directory Print Version