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.

Join our Land Acknowledgement discussion this Sunday at 9 am in Friendship Hall

A proposal for a land acknowledgment has been written by members of Orchard Ridge. On Sunday, October 13th at 9:00 am, we would like you to join in a discussion facilitated by Rev. Kerri Parker. We will meet in Friendship Hall. 

Below is our statement:

“Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ occupies the ancestral, sacred and continuously inhabited TeeJop (Four Lakes region). In 1832, the United States government forced the Ho-Chunk People to cede this territory and then fought to remove them from Wisconsin. We acknowledge the unjust use of land ownership by White society to suppress and profit from the Ho-Chunk and others. This history informs our work and vision for a collaborative future.

We honor the Ho-Chunk legacy of resistance and resilience, and respectfully acknowledge the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk nation and other Indigenous Nations in what is now known as the State of Wisconsin. 

In light of these injustices, we as a congregation commit to learning from, listening to, and building relationships with Ho-Chunk peoples, and acting in accordance with our faith by contributing money, time, and energy to the work and needs of Indigenous Peoples.”

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. 

Wayfinding 2024-2025 begins this coming Wednesday, October 16th

”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 this Wednesday, 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.”

You’re Invited!

Los Volcanes Open House Launch Party

TODAY, Thursday, Oct 10, 2025, 3:30pm – 6:30pm

8508 Fairway Drive

Middleton, WI 53562

We heard from Los Volcanes at their September 29th presentation about their collective and the work challenges of Latinx workers. 

Now come join them for good music, food, guest speakers, and an opportunity to explore their new space. 

At 5:00pm there will be a short program to hear from members of the collective and the support network who made their incubation possible. 

¡Come support Worker Justice Wisconsin!

Our Generosity at Work: Compassion Offering for September

We are glad to report that September’s Compassion Offering for Yahara House amounted to $4,240.40. Yahara House, located in Madison, is an evidence-based community mental health program that focuses on recovery through social connection, meaningful activity, and reintroduction to community employment. Its mission is to transform the lives of people with mental illness by replacing despair, stigma and isolation with hope, dignity and community.

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

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!

Treinen Farms Bonfire and Corn Maze

All Ages Event! Friday, October 25, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Come join other friends and families from ORUCC in some fall fun up at Treinen Farm in Lodi. The church will have a bonfire pit reserved along with s’mores supplies for roasting marshmallows. Each family is responsible for purchasing their own tickets, which can be done online or at the door.

Hope to see you there! See Pastor Kate with questions.

 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 

Ushers needed through Christmas 2024

Please consider signing up to be an usher during our Sunday morning service. Ushers hand out bulletins, help people be seated, take the morning offering and count the money received.

We have very few people signed up now with none for this Sunday, October 13th. We would like to see the days all filled up. On-the-job training will be provided, but it is very easy to complete the ushering duties.

Please visit the signup genius via the link below. If you have any questions, please contact the church office and they will put you in touch with the appropriate members.

Usher Signup Genius Link

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].

Spiritual

Nourishment

for you!



For October 10 – 16

Daily Reflections: October 10- 16

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.

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