ORUCC–Sign up to attend a Maundy Thursday dinner in a home on March 28th, 4 spots left!

Ken Pennings on March 19, 2024

 

Sign up to attend

a Maundy Thursday

dinner in a home

March 28th, 6-8 pm

We’d really love to be able to fill all 4 spots available!
 

Might you be interested in attending a Maundy Thursday meal in a home on March 28th, 6-8 pm?

One spot has opened at Becky and Richard’s home.

One spot is open at Deanna and Jon’s home.

Two spots are open at Loretta and Todd’s home.

In the past, the host has provided a Middle Eastern main dish, and has either invited the guests to bring side dishes to share or to bring a favorite beverage (e.g. wine). Your host will be in touch with you about this. Be sure to let your host know if you have any dietary restrictions.

If you have trouble with this online signup tool, there will be signup sheets on the table in the Crossroads the next three Sundays. Or you can contact Ken Pennings to let him know which host you’ve chosen ([email protected] or 608-556-2371).

After supper, your group will share in a brief litany of Communion remembering Jesus’ last supper with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Click here to sign up
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, July 10th, 9 am (In-person or by Zoom)

Ken Pennings on July 7, 2022

Java & Jesus
July 10th, at 9 am
Attend in-person at the church in the
Alfred Swan Room, or attend remotely
by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
Theme: Social Media as Destructive Gossip
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
Please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss an excerpt from the 2021 book “Life is Messy” by Matthew Kelly. Optional: Bible verses on gossip.
 

To join Zoom discussion by phone: 1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 836 4943 6657
Passcode: 315584
If you have difficulty accessing the Zoom discussion,
phone Ken Pennings at 608-556-2371 
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, June 19th, 9 am (In-person or by Zoom)

Ken Pennings on June 16, 2022

Java & Jesus
June 19th, at 9 am
Attend in-person at the church in the
Alfred Swan Room, or attend remotely
by Zoom
Jim McNamara facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
Jim invites us to watch some music videos that have moved him in one way or another. It’s mostly pop stuff because that’s what has affected him most over his life. As you listen, think of how the music and lyrics make you feel. Does it feel “right” to you? What music from your personal history would you recommend to others for reflection, consolation or celebration? Was there a time when music allowed you to move through a difficult situation?
Be sure to do the reading before clicking on the following links:
To join Zoom discussion by phone: 1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 836 4943 6657
Passcode: 315584
If you have difficulty accessing the Zoom discussion,
phone Ken Pennings at 608-556-2371 
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

Sign up to host Lawn Lemonade one or more Sundays this summer?

Ken Pennings on June 12, 2022

Would you be willing to host “Lawn Lemonade” one or more Sundays this summer after worship?
.
Responsibilities include: 1) setting up a table on the church lawn before 10 am worship; 2) before 10 am worship, preparing an igloo of icy cold lemonade (igloo, paper cups, powdered lemonade and ice will already be in good supply in the church kitchen); 3) serving the lemonade from the table (it will make the line move faster if folks can pick up a cup of lemonade rather than having to take the time to fill it on their own (in other words, the server will operate the spicket on the igloo dispenser); 4) cleaning up igloo in the kitchen, saving left-over lemonade for the following week in the refrigerator;
5) taking down the table and returning it to storage in the custodian’s closet at the head of the educational wing.
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!
We need host(s) as soon as SUNDAY, JUNE 26TH.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!
After selecting a date, 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 UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

Sign up to host Lawn Lemonade one or more Sundays this summer?

Ken Pennings on June 12, 2022

Would you be willing to host “Lawn Lemonade” one or more Sundays this summer after worship?
.
Responsibilities include: 1) setting up a table on the church lawn before 10 am worship; 2) before 10 am worship, preparing an igloo of icy cold lemonade (igloo, paper cups, powdered lemonade and ice will already be in good supply in the church kitchen); 3) serving the lemonade from the table (it will make the line move faster if folks can pick up a cup of lemonade rather than having to take the time to fill it on their own (in other words, the server will operate the spicket on the igloo dispenser); 4) cleaning up igloo in the kitchen, saving left-over lemonade for the following week in the refrigerator;
5) taking down the table and returning it to storage in the custodian’s closet at the head of the educational wing.
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!
We need host(s) as soon as SUNDAY, JUNE 26TH.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!
After selecting a date, 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 UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, June 12th, 9 am (In-person or by Zoom)

Ken Pennings on June 9, 2022

Java & Jesus
June 12th, at 9 am
Note the change in the start-time (we’ll gather at 9 am)!
Attend in-person at the church in the
Alfred Swan Room, or attend remotely
by Zoom
Jeanne Moberly facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
Please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss “Finding a Spiritual Sensibility within a Secular Word–Guidance from Modern Christian Mystics.”
To join Zoom discussion by phone: 1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 836 4943 6657
Passcode: 315584
If you have difficulty accessing the Zoom discussion,
phone Ken Pennings at 608-556-2371 
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

Sign up to volunteer on Sunday mornings for in-person worship?

Ken Pennings on June 7, 2022

AT ORUCC, the Members are the Ministers!
We are seeking volunteers to serve in 2022 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, an Assistant to the AV Technician,
a Welcomer, a Lay Liturgist, to assist with
Holy Communion or to host summer “Lawn Lemonade”?
We need people as soon as SUNDAY, JUNE 12TH.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!
After selecting a date, 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 UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, June 5th, 9 am (In-person or by Zoom)

Ken Pennings on June 2, 2022

Java & Jesus
June 5th, at 9 am
Note the change in the start-time (we’ll gather at 9 am)!
Our first hybrid session!
Attend in-person at the church in the
Alfred Swan Room, or attend remotely
by Zoom
Pam Oliver facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
Please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss an extract from a sociology article that talks about mixed-race faith-based progressive organizations in which people from different backgrounds work together for social justice. It talks about how two different kinds of emotion-laden personal narratives are used to help people connect across difference: what the author calls “lived injustice” stories by those who have themselves suffered from injustice and “failed covenant” stories by relatively privileged people who talk about their moral awakening to injustice. What kinds of personal stories do we tell about our faith and social justice? Are these the only two kinds of stories or are there others? What have been people’s experiences working to create solidarity across difference in mixed-race or other “mixed” groups?  
To join Zoom discussion by phone: 1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 836 4943 6657
Passcode: 315584
If you have difficulty accessing the Zoom discussion,
phone Ken Pennings at 608-556-2371 

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

Sign up to volunteer on Sunday mornings for in-person worship?

Ken Pennings on May 27, 2022

AT ORUCC, the Members are the Ministers!
We are seeking a whole new team of volunteers to serve in 2022 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, an Assistant to the AV Technician,
a Welcomer, a Lay Liturgist, or to assist with
Holy Communion?
We need people as soon as NEXT SUNDAY, June 5th.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!
Questions or problems signing up?
Contact Ken Pennings at [email protected] or 608-556-2371.

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java and Jesus, April 24th, 11:45 am

Ken Pennings on April 21, 2022

Java & Jesus
April 24th, at 11:45 am, by Zoom
Jim McNamara facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
For this Sunday’s discussion, please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss the second chapter of the book After Jesus, Before Christianity: An Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of the Jesus Movement, by Erin Vearncomb,
Brandon Scott and Hal Taussing.
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, April 10th, 11:45 am

Ken Pennings on April 7, 2022

Java & Jesus
April 10th, at 11:45 am, by Zoom
Dick Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
For this Sunday’s discussion, please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss the first chapter of the book After Jesus, Before Christianity: An Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of the Jesus Movement, by Erin Vearncomb,
Brandon Scott and Hal Taussing.
Note: There will not be a Java & Jesus session on
Easter Sunday. We will resume on April 24.
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

Correction – ORUCC Java & Jesus, April 3rd, 11:45 am

Ken Pennings on March 31, 2022

Java & Jesus
April 3rd, at 11:45 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
 Please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss a chapter from the book The Naked Now by Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest and popular author, who uses anecdotes and personal experience in examining differences between Eastern and Western religions and posits lessons we might learn from the training certain Buddhist monks.
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, April 3rd, 11:45 am

Ken Pennings on March 31, 2022

Java & Jesus
April 3rd, at 11:45 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
 Please read ahead of time and come prepared to discuss a chapter from the book The Naked Now by Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest and popular author, who uses anecdotes and personal experience in examining differences between Eastern and Western religions and posits lessons we might learn from the training certain Buddhist monks.
(When you click the link, a small pop-up may appear in the corner of your screen. Click the link in the pop-up, and wait a while for the pdf to open)
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC sign-ups to volunteer on Sunday mornings for in-person worship

Ken Pennings on March 29, 2022

AT ORUCC, the Members are the Ministers!
We are seeking a whole new team of volunteers to serve in 2022 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!
Would you consider serving one or more times as a
Lay Liturgist, a Welcomer, a Coffee-Maker, or for Holy Communion?
We need people as soon as THIS SUNDAY, April 3rd.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!

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

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, March 27th, 11:45 am

Ken Pennings on March 24, 2022

Java & Jesus
March 27th, at 11:45 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
At its core Buddhism is a path of peace, compassion, and loving kindness. It is not so much a philosophy of the head but rather of the heart. Founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born into a noble family in northeast India near Nepal nearly 2,600 years ago, and who became known as the Buddha or “the awakened one.” Siddhartha lived a sheltered palace life until at age 29 he experienced a series of events that catapulted him onto an intense path of spiritual awakening that lasted for six years. At its peak he achieved enlightenment, or Nirvana. Knowing one day he would die, the Buddha exhaustively explained every minute detail of achieving enlightenment, breaking down every concept into categories and subcategories.
 
Buddhism is a philosophy of living consciously in this life in order to live forever in another life. Meditation goes hand in hand with mindfulness and is an important part of the Buddhist’s path. Buddhists see mindfulness meditation—a type of meditation that follows the breath through the body while at the same time developing an awareness of the body in general—as a means of reaching enlightenment.
 
Thich Nhat Hahn, who died in January of this year at the age of 95, was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who became a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist, renowned for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings. He was also considered a
Zen Master.
 
This week’s reading explores The Last Supper through the eyes of Thich Nhat Hahn. It is Chapter 3 from Thich Nhat Hahn’s book Living Buddha, Living Christ, entitled “The First Supper.” It offers a Buddhist perspective on the Eucharist or Holy Communion.
Dan Rossmiller chose this reading because of the season of Lent and in recognition of the church youth learning about other religions and Buddhism in particular.
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, March 20th, 11:45 am

Ken Pennings on March 17, 2022

Java & Jesus
March 20th, at 11:45 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
 
With the aid of a recent Op-Ed from the Wall Street Journal, this Sunday’s discussion will center on what is our moral obligation to help Ukraine (i.e., what is our obligation as a nation, as a leader of the world and as individuals)?
 
Among the questions to explore are: What is our obligation as Christians? What in Jesus’ teaching informs this view? How do you think Jesus would deal with a narcissistic sociopath who is an absolute dictator with his finger on the nuclear weapons launch button?
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

CORRECTED ORUCC Worship Resources for March 13

Ken Pennings on March 12, 2022

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ
Worship Resources 03.13.2022
Lent 2
Photo above of Jordan Valley by Eddie & Carolina Stigson
You are invited!
March 13th, 9:00 am
Social Justice Programming
Palestinian Justice
Friendship Hall
(Scroll down for details)
You are invited
to join us for worship in-person or
live-streamed
March 13th,10:00 am
Preaching: Ken Pennings
Sermon: Weeping & Lamenting
Clergy Liturgists: Tammy Martens, Alice & David Anderman
Join our Worship virtually
on YouTube any time after 10 am:
You will need to refresh the page
after 10 am if you have opened it before
March 13th, 9:00 am Sunday School
For children through 5th grade.
10:00 am Music Connections & Crafts/Play time
Children and youth are invited to 10:00 worship & after the Children’s moment will be invited to Music Connections
(for 2nd graders and older)
or Craft/Play time (preschool–first grade).
9am Social Justice Programming
Palestinian Justice
Sunday March 13 & 20
Rev. Diane Dulin and Thomas Beilman facilitating
How Are the Children? 
Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Detention
A video curriculum for UCC audiences
In 2017, delegates to the United Church of Christ General Synod passed a Resolution of Witness calling for an end to the ill-treatment of Palestinian children incarcerated in Israeli military prisons. Discover why the UCC and other faith communities are calling urgently for an end to this systematic abuse of children. This curriculum features video testimony from UCC national executive leaders John Dorhauer and Traci Blackmon.
Join us in viewing the video curriculum, “How Are the Children?”, produced by the United Church of Christ Palestine-Israel Network in cooperation with national executive leaders and mission personnel of the UCC. The curriculum includes Detaining Dreams - an intimate documentary featuring the stories of four Palestinian youth and their families undergoing the ordeal of Israeli military incarceration. Discover how the UCC and other faith communities are working to help end the ill-treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. For more information: [email protected]  

Java & Jesus
March 13th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Baxter Richardson facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
Topic: Who is Your Jesus?
Our discussion will focus on 7 possible ways to see Jesus. There may be, of course, other interpretations. This discussion is not intended to be a quest for the “historical Jesus” although questions about what he actually said or did may come up.
We will do this by looking at selections from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all from the King James Bible. A few questions that we may want to entertain (1) What views do you find most compelling? (2) What are the implications for us as individuals and as a community? (3) Does it make any difference what we believe about Jesus? (4) What role does Jesus play in your life?
Or paste the following into your browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799
March Compassion Offering
One Great Hour of Sharing

One Great Hour of Sharing®, an ecumenical offering sponsored in Lent by the United Church of Christ, provides humanitarian and disaster relief in the United States and around the world. When a disaster strikes or people are displaced or made refugees by violence or extreme poverty, you are part of the immediate response and the work for long- term recovery. Because the UCC works in partnership to churches and organizations through Global Ministries and worldwide response and recovery networks, your contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing put you in the right place at the right time for the relief, accompaniment and recovery of the most vulnerable. You meet immediate needs and you address the underlying causes that create those needs in the first place.  
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.

The United Church of Christ Makes an Appeal for Ukraine
Staff Availability
Office Manager Julie Wombacher available Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am -12:30 pm
608-271-7212 or EMAIL
Senior Pastor Julia Burkey available
Tues.- Fri. & Sun. 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
by appointment
518-542-6915 EMAIL
Associate Pastor Tammy Martens: available
Tues.- Fri. 10:00 am -4:00 pm by appointment
608-957-3184 or EMAIL
Associate Pastor Ken Pennings: available
Tues.-Thurs. 10:00 am -5:00 pm by appointment
608-556-2371 EMAIL
All pastors (try to) take Monday & Saturday as Sabbath days.
Friday is observed as a writing day for the preaching pastor.
LIKE or FOLLOW the Orchard Ridge FaceBook Page
JOIN our Private FB Group:
Follow us on Instagram @orchardridgeucc
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Worship Resources for March 13

Ken Pennings on March 12, 2022

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ
Worship Resources 03.13.2022
Lent 2
Photo above of Jordan Valley by Eddie & Carolina Stigson
You are invited
to join us in-person or
live-streamed
March 13th 10:00 am
Preaching: Ken Pennings
Sermon: Weeping & Lamenting
Clergy Liturgists: Tammy Martens, Alice & David Anderman
Join our Worship virtually
on YouTube any time after 10 am:
You will need to refresh the page
after 10 am if you have opened it before
9:00 am Sunday School
For children through 5th grade.
10:00 am Music Connections & Crafts/Play time
Children and youth are invited to 10:00 worship & after the Children’s moment will be invited to Music Connections
(for 2nd graders and older)
or Craft/Play time (preschool–first grade).
Java & Jesus
March 13th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Baxter Richardson facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
Topic: Who is Your Jesus?
Our discussion will focus on 7 possible ways to see Jesus. There may be, of course, other interpretations. This discussion is not intended to be a quest for the “historical Jesus” although questions about what he actually said or did may come up.
We will do this by looking at selections from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all from the King James Bible. A few questions that we may want to entertain (1) What views do you find most compelling? (2) What are the implications for us as individuals and as a community? (3) Does it make any difference what we believe about Jesus? (4) What role does Jesus play in your life?
Or paste the following into your browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799
March Compassion Offering
One Great Hour of Sharing

One Great Hour of Sharing®, an ecumenical offering sponsored in Lent by the United Church of Christ, provides humanitarian and disaster relief in the United States and around the world. When a disaster strikes or people are displaced or made refugees by violence or extreme poverty, you are part of the immediate response and the work for long- term recovery. Because the UCC works in partnership to churches and organizations through Global Ministries and worldwide response and recovery networks, your contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing put you in the right place at the right time for the relief, accompaniment and recovery of the most vulnerable. You meet immediate needs and you address the underlying causes that create those needs in the first place.  
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.

The United Church of Christ Makes an Appeal for Ukraine
Staff Availability
Office Manager Julie Wombacher available Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am -12:30 pm
608-271-7212 or EMAIL
Senior Pastor Julia Burkey available
Tues.- Fri. & Sun. 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
by appointment
518-542-6915 EMAIL
Associate Pastor Tammy Martens: available
Tues.- Fri. 10:00 am -4:00 pm by appointment
608-957-3184 or EMAIL
Associate Pastor Ken Pennings: available
Tues.-Thurs. 10:00 am -5:00 pm by appointment
608-556-2371 EMAIL
All pastors (try to) take Monday & Saturday as Sabbath days.
Friday is observed as a writing day for the preaching pastor.
LIKE or FOLLOW the Orchard Ridge FaceBook Page
JOIN our Private FB Group:
Follow us on Instagram @orchardridgeucc
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, March 13th, 11:30 am

Ken Pennings on March 10, 2022

Java & Jesus
March 13th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Baxter Richardson facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
Topic: Who is Your Jesus?
Our discussion will focus on 7 possible ways to see Jesus. There may be, of course, other interpretations. This discussion is not intended to be a quest for the “historical Jesus” although questions about what he actually said or did may come up.
We will do this by looking at selections from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all from the King James Bible. A few questions that we may want to entertain (1) What views do you find most compelling? (2) What are the implications for us as individuals and as a community? (3) Does it make any difference what we believe about Jesus? (4) What role does Jesus play in your life?
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC sign-ups to volunteer on Sunday mornings for in-person worship

Ken Pennings on March 7, 2022

AT ORUCC, the Members are the Ministers!
We are seeking a whole new team of volunteers to serve in 2022 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!
Would you consider serving one or more times as a
Lay Liturgist, a Welcomer, a Coffee-Maker, or for Holy Communion?
We need people as soon as THIS SUNDAY, March 13th.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!
Questions? Contact Ken Pennings at [email protected] or 608-556-2371.

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, March 6th, 11:30 am

Ken Pennings on March 3, 2022

Java & Jesus
March 6th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
This Sunday’s session will focus on a chapter from John Shelby Spong’s book Liberating the Gospels, Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes.
 
The Chapter, entitled ”He Died According to the Scriptures” is Spong’s exploration of ways in which certain Old Testament scriptures were used to shape the Gospels’ telling of Jesus’ story. His analysis posits that the Gospels were not biographies so much as faith proclamations of the early Christians. 
 
Spong, who passed away last year, was the Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, from 1979 to 2000, and a liberal Christian theologian who authored numerous books advocating a
rethinking of Christian belief.
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, Feb. 27th, 11:30 am

Ken Pennings on February 24, 2022

Java & Jesus
Feb. 27th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
A discussion on the the divinity of Jesus centered on the question “Was Jesus God?” using a writing by liberal Jesus scholar Marcus Borg.
The reading is entitled, “Jesus and God” and is taken from the book, The Meaning of Jesus–Two Visions by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright (a conservative Jesus scholar).
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, Feb. 20th, 11:30 am

Ken Pennings on February 17, 2022

Java & Jesus
Feb. 20th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller & Baxter Richardson facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
Title: WHITHER ORCHARD RIDGE
Please join a discussion of some of the issues facing Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ as we return to in-person activities. The discussion will make use of Thom S. Rainer’s 2020 book “The Post-Quarantine Church.” The book presents readers with six chapters and six sets of challenges, ranging from our mission and our worship to our use of technology. We may, of course, identify other challenges unique to our church. 
 
For this Sunday, we will cover the challenges discussed in the last three chapters of the book (Last Sunday, we covered the challenges discussed in the first three chapters).
 If you are not able to read all three chapters, please focus your attention on the questions posed at the end of each chapter.
Or paste the following into your browser: us02web.zoom.us/j/82653677444?pwd=K1lxWnNFNWF0S3RMbThaaEpERU9jdz09
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC sign-ups to volunteer on Sunday mornings for in-person worship

Ken Pennings on February 15, 2022

AT ORUCC, the Members are the Ministers!
We are seeking a whole new team of volunteers to serve in 2022 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!
Would you consider serving one or more times as a
Lay Liturgist, a Welcomer, or for Holy Communion?
We need people as soon as THIS SUNDAY, February 20th.
Feel free to sign up as an individual, a couple, or a family!
Questions? Contact Ken Pennings at [email protected] or 608-556-2371.

Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, 1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, WI 53711

ORUCC Java & Jesus, Feb. 13th, 11:30 am

Ken Pennings on February 10, 2022

Java & Jesus
Feb. 13th, at 11:30 am, by Zoom
Dan Rossmiller & Baxter Richardson facilitating
All are welcome!
Please join us even if this is your first time!
Title: WHENCE ORCHARD RIDGE
Please join a discussion on some of the issues facing Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ as we return to in-person activities. The discussion will make use of Thom S. Rainer’s 2020 book “The Post-Quarantine Church.” The book presents readers with six chapters and six sets of challenges, ranging from our mission and our worship to our use of technology. We may, of course, identify other challenges unique to our church. 
 
For this Sunday, we will cover the challenges discussed in the first three chapters. The reading is lengthy. If you are not able to read all three chapters, please focus your attention on the questions posed at the end of each chapter.
Meeting ID: 826 5367 7444
Passcode: 943784
Dial: +1 312 626 6799
Orchard Ridge UCC | Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice, www.orucc.org, Madison, WI 53711