Welcome Back Picnic

this Sunday, September 8th, immediately after worship

Come celebrate the launch of our program year with a delicious picnic lunch prepared and served by our Hospitality Mission Team! Optional donations will go toward the 2025 Youth Service Trip. Feel free to bring reusable dishes for yourself. Disposable plates/cutlery will be provided.

Can you help with setting up and/or tearing down the outdoor picnic and grilling? Click here to sign up

Sign up by TOMORROW (September 6th) for ORUCC’S group course: Black History For A New Day (BHFAND) 

Mondays 7-9PM Sept. 16-Nov. 18 either on Zoom or at church.  

Put ORUCC in the “coupon” box and probably also in the “organization” box. Then it lets you register without paying.

Money should go to the church office. 

Register by tomorrow, Sept. 6, 2024

Choose the MONDAY EVENING Virtual Option  

Use Code ORUCC

The link is https://courses.justifiedanger.com/component/eventbooking/course-registration/2024-fall-monday-hybrid/184?Itemid=762

Course fee is $300 for first time participants and $150 for those of us repeating the course, funds which support Nehemiah’s important work. Pay with a check payable to ORUCC with Black History in memo line and send to the church office by September 30. 

Check out BHFAND for a course overview.

SEPTEMBER

COMPASSION OFFERING

Yahara House

Yahara House (YH), located in Madison Wisconsin, is an evidence-based community mental health program that focuses on recovery through social connection, meaningful activity, and reintroduction to community employment. YH’s mission is to transform the lives of people living with mental illness by replacing despair, stigma, and isolation with hope, dignity and community.  YH is made up of community members who are working together to achieve some common goals, including:

   - completing educational and employment goals

   - developing self-esteem, confidence, and coping strategies

   - finding and securing resources – such as affordable housing, primary care services; and

   - living a life of respect and independence within the members’ larger community

Open and accessible to program members 40 hours a week, plus holidays and monthly evening and weekend social activities, YH offers a place for adults with mental illness to belong in a stigma-free environment. Yahara House was founded in 1976 and is an official member of Clubhouse International. You can find more information at Work and Community | Yahara House | Madison.

Thank you in advance for your donation to benefit Yahara House as our September Compassion Offering recipient. This video shares more info.

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 from our website. 

The link is https://orucc.org/contribute/support/

ORUCC Women’s Book Group to meet Thursday, September 5th

ORUCC Women’s Book Group will gather on Thursday, September 5th from 1:30 to 3pm to discuss The River We Remember by William Kent Kruieger, one of our favorite authors. We will gather in the Alfred Swan Room and we will also be on Zoom (God-willing and technology working!). Mary Connor will lead us in our discussion. If you are reading ahead, October’s book is Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn on October 3rd. Email Deanna Blanchard with questions [email protected]

Friday Breakfast Group meets September 6th

The next Friday Breakfast is set for September 6th 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.

Welcome Back!

Children and Youth

Faith Formation programming

begins Sunday, September 8

We are excited to see you!

Faith formation programming for all children and youth at the 9:00 hour will begin on Sept. 8th.

We will also have a Youth Service Trip Celebration during the 10:00 a.m. worship service, followed by an all-church picnic. For our youngest children (5 and under), nursery care will be offered from 8:30-11:30 beginning Sept. 8. Our Children and Youth music ministries (TRU Function and Music Connections) will resume on Sept. 15. Please contact Pastor Kate ([email protected]) or Julie Mazer ([email protected]) with questions.

Our Generosity at Work: Compassion Offering for August

We are happy to report that August’s Compassion Offering for the Wisconsin United Church of Christ’s Outdoor Ministry amounted to $2,409. The Ministry supports special places for renewal in Wisconsin such as the Moon Beach family camp, the Daycholah Center on the shores of Green Lake, and Cedar Valley near West Bend.

Presentation on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank

Sunday, September 8 at Midvale Community Lutheran Church

The Palestine Justice Mission Team invites you to attend a presentation Sunday, September 8, from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, at Midvale Community Lutheran Church. The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, Palestine will give an update on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Click for more information and registration link.

Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy

Monday, September 9 at 6:00 pm

Event by First Baptist Church of Madison

518 N Franklin Ave, Madison, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53705

Bad Faith is a vital and timely documentary that tells the disturbing story of the rise of Christian Nationalism in the US and how some are twisting religion to achieve their political goals.

Join us Monday, September 9th at 6:00 pm for a FREE community screening of this important film…and popcorn! Space is limited, so RSVPs are strongly encouraged. Tickets

firstbaptistmadison.e360chms.com/external/form/565c323b-56d2-49e3-b05e-b3f5c2bdff2f

This screening is being cohosted by The Wisconsin Council of Churches, WISDOM, Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice.

Lunch & Learn returns Wednesday, September 11th

We return on the 11^th for our first meeting of our program year.  We gather at 11:30 am for the lunch portion in Friendship Hall and adjourn to Worship Hall for the Learn portion. This month we will learn about Braver Angels.

Braver Angels is a nonprofit dedicated to political depolarization. The organization runs workshops, debates, and other events where “red” (conservative) and “blue” (liberal) participants attempt to better understand one another’s positions and discover their shared values. The organization states that it is the “largest, grassroots, bipartisan organization in America dedicated to reviving the communal spirit of American democracy.” They say that their “method involves bringing politically diverse people together in small groups to listen empathetically to each other’s perspectives.”

As its main activity, Braver Angels runs conversations among Americans with opposing political views. Its flagship discussion format has been the Red/Blue workshops. The Red/Blue workshops are designed to facilitate understanding and conversations between conservative Reds and liberal Blues. Ideally, the number of Red and Blue participants is balanced for each session. The workshop was designed by Braver Angels co-founder, Prof. William Doherty, an expert in family social science at the University of Minnesota, based on therapy methods used in couples counseling.

Be prepared to learn non-threatening conversation techniques that may help us come to common ground on any issue.  We will see you Wednesday, September 11^th at 11:30 am.  The meal donation is $10.  Please email Steve Sheets with your RSVP by September 9^th [email protected] .

 Flicker Wild Church

Join Pastor Julia & her spouse Rev. Daniel Cooperrider for a sacred circle and wild wander and potluck with Flicker Wild Church, to celebrate the Fall Equinox 2024, Sunday September 22, 5pm at Pop’s Knoll in Donald County Park in the unglaciated driftless hills west of Madison. We have rented Delma’s Shelter, and so we will celebrate our one-year mark of gathering as a wild church community with a potluck fellowship meal after.  Bring something you love to share!  

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 

Spiritual

Nourishment

for you!



For September 5 – 11

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

Daily Reflections: September 5 – 11

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

September 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