9am Social Justice Programming

Come hear an update on what’s happening at the border and test your knowledge of immigration facts and figures.

With Ruthanne Landsness

9 am Friendship Hall

Ilgen Literacy Fund: New Mission Team Forming

ORUCC is building a new mission team for the Ilgen Literacy Fund. If you feel called to work on a small, community-based project at the intersection of childhood literacy and racial justice, consider joining!

Check out our 2021 progress report to see how we’ve moved forward this year, and/or contact chairperson Jen Walker to learn more.

The United Church of Christ Makes an Appeal for Ukraine

Click here to learn how you may contribute

Or visit https://www.ucc.org/global-h-o-p-e/ukraine-emergency-appeal/

Spiritual

Nourishment

for you!

For the week of May 5 – May 11

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.

Friday Breakfast Group May 6

Join us for Friday Breakfast Group May 6 at 8:30 am at Denny’s, 433 S. Gammon Road. The group meets on the first Friday of the month and is open to all, both men and women. It is informal and a chance to connect and converse on many topics. Contact Louise Jeanne, Link for more information.

Family Game Night is back!

We’ll meet next on Friday, May 6 in the church from 6-8 pm. Bring a game and some food to share. Questions?

Contact Rachael Lancor([email protected]). Also save the date for a special fun night on June 3 featuring improv! 

ORUCC member Dan Miller and his team at Mad City Dream Homes are hosting a wonderful event for the second time (with no real estate related activities!) and we are all invited. Lilada Gee and her artwork will be highlighted on Friday, May 6th from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at at their 1619 Monroe Street office. Here’s the event on Facebook (you don’t need to register in order to come). We’ll be serving refreshments and free food from a food truck, too. 

Over 55 Wednesday, May 11^th. 11:30 am.

Mark your calendars. We will enjoy a grand buffet luncheon at 11:45. Our featured speaker is Dr. Ken Loving, CEO of Access Community Health Centers. Dr. Loving is the son of our own Doug and Mary Loving. Access Community Health Centers is a non-profit organization with the mission of improving the health and lives of people who otherwise face financial, cultural, or language obstacles that prevent access to high-quality, affordable health care. We will learn how “Access” manages to work towards that mission.     All are welcome. The luncheon is $8. Save the date: Wednesday, May 11^th, 11:30. Please RSVP, Steve Sheets [email protected], to help our catering team plan.

Garden Tenders

May 7 work in the church landscape beds is canceled. Brush will be picked up by the city crews in the Orchard Ridge neighborhood next week but there isn’t enough to bother with at ORUCC. 

Worship and Work Sunday is set for May 15 after our service. Plans that were sent out in March have changed somewhat but we should be able to weed, plant new natives, trim bushes and mulch flower beds. Bring garden gloves, trowels, shovels, rakes (marked with your name) maybe a drink and enjoy the camaraderie of working together to beautiful the church grounds. You can also work indoors washing windows if your knees don’t like gardening. 

There will be opportunities to weed and garden on Wednesday mornings for those of us no longer gainfully employed. Maybe we can plan some outings or brunches to reward ourselves. If interested, please contact Joyce Pohl at [email protected] or call or text 608-206-5697. 

Wayfinding for Seniors Returns!

Wednesday, May 18, 9:30 am – 11:30 am

After a long hiatus, waiting out you-know-what, Wayfinding is ready to get back up and running.  So if you see yourself as a “senior,” please join us on Wednesday, May 18, for a chance to reconnect and envision our future.

Lucky for us, Pastor Julia is experienced with senior programming. So we’re very grateful she’ll be taking the lead on shaping the future of Wayfinding.  One decision that’s been made is that, going forward, we’ll be narrowing the focus of Wayfinding to address the spiritual aspects of aging and end of life — i.e., the very real challenges of getting older, the spiritual qualities that help meet these challenges, useful spiritual resources, and how we make sense of it all. 

For the fall we’re envisioning a series of “cafe-style” meetups on a regular basis.  They will provide a chance to connect around specific issues and gain strength for our journeys.

On May 18 we’ll begin with inquiry.  Julia would like to know: What are the spiritual tasks of aging as you experience them? Are you finding new wisdom (or humor!) as part of aging? What are the unique challenges elders face? (Of course being a 65-yr-old is quite different from being a 90-yr-old, so “senior /elder” encompasses a range of things.)  We’ll use this input to further plan our cafes for 2022-23.  

Date:  Wednesday, May 18.  Time 9:30-11:30.  Place: ORUCC Fellowship Hall.

No need to RSVP. For more information contact [email protected]. 

Porchlight Needs Our Help!

Coffee and personal hygiene items-trial size are still needed for the shelter which is at 200 N. First Street until September, 2022.  These supplies can be dropped off at the shelter or at the Porchlight office at 306 N. Brooks St./ Madison. Porchlight’s number is 608-206-9625. 

From the Immigration Justice Team

Spring Cleaning?

Save those clothes for the Casa Alitas Clothing Drive  in August!

We’ll begin receiving donations after August 8!

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

Save the date!

ORUCC Installation

Celebration of Julia Burkey

officially installed as our Senior Pastor

Sunday May 22nd 2pm

An installation is a special service in the United Church of Christ that marks the beginning of a pastor’s leadership in the local church and is our way of saying to Pastor Julia “you belong here with us!” It grants a sense of permanence and belonging and celebration of the Holy Spirit for bringing us together. We believe God has brought us together for a reason in this time and place and along with our local Southwest Wisconsin Association of the United Church of Christ, we will celebrate.

The COVID Response Team met this past Sunday, May 1.

We once again considered current trends in the region and discussed the evolving types of data now available to us.

We continue to recommend that masks be required during worship, in order to extend the broadest welcome to all. For small groups that use the church outside of the worship service, they may continue to work with the pastors to make the best determination for their group.

We are starting to digest the new COVID metrics that have become publicly available, and to consider how they might guide our decision-making in the future. 

While the recommendations continue to evolve, we reiterate that by wearing even a non-fitted N95 mask – freely available outside Worship Hall – the wearer essentially ensures that nobody can be considered a “close contact” during worship. (It would take hours of continuous exposure to an unmasked individual for this to be the case!) This frees us from the need to be concerned with “contact tracing,” etc. if any of our friends test positive for COVID — although we do appreciate being able to pray for them during Joys & Concerns. Please keep telling us when you test positive for COVID after being in worship or at a church function.

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?

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

Click here to sign up as a Welcomer

Click here to sign up as a Lay Liturgist



Click here to sign up as a Coffee-Maker

Click here to assist with Holy Communion

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

Pictorial Directory

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

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

1501 Gilbert Road

Madison, WI 53711

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