"I will put my teaching in their minds and write it on their hearts..."
Jeremiah 31:33
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Calendar of Upcoming Events | |
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Below are the weekly programs. Brief descriptions of these weekly programs are on our website.
Clickable links are in blue, underlined, and italicized.
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SUNDAY Choir Practice, 9 am in person, Sanctuary
Contact Tom Ludwig, if interested.
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SUNDAY, 11:30 a.m. Bible Study in person and on Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/262314649 (no Bible Study Feb.9th Because of Trish Kalhagen's presentation in the sanctuary after worship) NOT 2/23
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Below are the upcoming non-weekly events on the calendar happening at McFarland UCC for about the next month. All events are on the McFarland UCC calendar with Zoom links and additional information in the details/description area. Click the event on the McFarland UCC calendar to see the details. | |
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Friday, February 21 - Sunday, February 23, Weekend Confirmation Trip
Sunday, March 2, 10:00 am, Birthday & Communion Sunday
Sunday, March 2, 5:30 - 7:00 pm, Older Youth Group at MUCC
Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Racial Justice Care Team Monthly Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Wednesday, March 5, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Ash Wednesday Service, (In person & Online), Sanctuary
Sunday, March 9, Daylight Saving Time starts
Wednesday, March 12, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Contemplative Service with Prayers for Healing (In person & Online), Sanctuary
Thursday, March 13, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, SaLT Monthly Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Sunday, March 16, 6:00 pm, Confirmation
Wednesday, March 19, 6:00 - 7:30 pm, Outreach Funds Quarterly Meeting (Rescheduled from March 5 due to Ash Wednesday Service), (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Thursday, February 20, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Creation Care Team Extra Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
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Thank you to this weekend's volunteers!
Greeters/Ushers:
Hospitality Hosts: Peter & Amy Cavi
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Resolve to get involved at McFarland UCC! Volunteer on Sunday. Join a ministry such as Racial Justice, Creation Care, Befrienders Care Team, SaLT, Youth ministry, Building & Ground Team, or others. Find out more by clicking here. | |
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Donna Grossman to Preach This Sunday!
February 23, 2025
Pastor Bryan will be away this weekend with our Confirmation Youth for a weekend retreat at beautiful Daycholah Center in Green Lake, WI. Don't miss our moderator Donna Grossman's message or the choir who will be singing this weekend also!
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News at McFarland UCC
Note: Clickable links are blue, underlined, and italicized.
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Proposal to Restructure Wisconsin UCC Conference
There will be informational meetings (see below) throughout Wisconsin on the proposal to dissolve the four associations in favor of a unified Conference structure. The aim is to strengthen UCC relationships and enhance resource sharing. This shift will centralize Committees on Ministry into a Unified COM with regional representatives handling Authorization, Oversight, and Support.
The restructuring will be financially neutral, with efficiency savings reinvested into ministry development. A new dues system will begin in 2026, while Our Church’s Wider Mission remains the primary funding source. Meetings across the associations in February and March will provide more details. The restructuring proposal will be voted on at the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting in June, marking a significant transition in the church’s governance and mission.
Southeast Association
Southwest Association
Northwest Association
- March 8
- In-person meeting at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s UCC in Wausau
- Online meeting at 10:00 a.m.
- Registration
- Zoom link
Northeast Association
- March 13
- 6:30 p.m.
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Online only. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link.
Note: Can't make your association's meeting? Feel free to attend any of the meetings virtually. The same topics will be covered.
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A Special Meeting for all Members & Friends of McFarland UCC
Sunday, March 16, 2025
After Worship at 11:30 a.m. (available on zoom using the Sunday Morning link and password) Bible Study will be canceled.
"What Does It Mean For Us To Be The Church At This Moment in History?"
I (Pastor Bryan) am calling for an informal conversation at our church sanctuary following worship on Sunday, March 16th. I realize some of you won't be able to be there, but please be with us if you can. We'll set an 11:30 a.m. starting time for this and go no more than 1 hour.
The purpose of this informal (as opposed to a formal congregational meeting which would require a quorum and other things stipulated by our by-laws) meeting is simply to give everyone an opportunity to share thoughts, feelings, hopes, and concerns regarding what it means for us to be a Church committed to biblical principles at this moment in history when so many unprecedented changes and challenges are before us. There will be no "resolutions" that would require an official congregational meeting and vote. This is just a conversation for us to communicate and get more clear as to how we understand our role as Church in the midst of all that's going on in our country and in the world right now.
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Cereal Drive
Now-March 2
The McFarland High School (MHS) is collecting cereal and MUCC can get involved in the community effort!
MHS is participating in the second annual "Do Good Wisconsin" cereal box challenge. Districts around the state compete to see who collects the most boxes. Last year MHS won the competition for a school of our size with 1011 boxes and the McFarland Food Pantry did not need to purchase cereal for 6 months!
Bring cereal boxes to MUCC this Sunday or next to donate and support the McFarland community!
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Usama (last name omitted to protect him) will discuss what life is currently like under occupation in the West Bank. Several members of the UCC WI Palestine Working Group know Usama and highly recommend this presentation.
Usama is a committed Palestinian civil society activist, serving as the Citizens Diplomacy Project Coordinator at Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center. Attendance is free, but donations are welcome.
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What's Next Gatherings
Join us for coffee and cider! If you'd like to share treats, you may bring some. Updates will be shared on recent news, information, and protest events. A Talking Circle will again be led by Art Shegonee. The theme is "Unraveling of our Democracy! We Are The Guardrails! What can you do?"
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Sat., Feb. 22, 2025, 2-5 pm at McFarland UCC - If you'd like to share treats, please bring some.
- Sat., March 22, 2-5 pm at Arbor Good Neighbor House, 2509 McDivitt Rd. Madison (off Todd Dr on the West Beltline)
- Sat., April 26, 2-5 pm at Arbor Good Neighbor House, 2509 McDivitt Rd. Madison (off Todd Dr on the West Beltline)
- Sat., May 10 - 16th Annual Wisconsin Grassroots Festival at Mcfarland High School
Contact Dawn Shegonee (remember this is a link to email Dawn) if you'd like additional information or have questions.
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"Responding to the Immigration Justice Crisis as People of Faith: A Conversation"
Thursday, February 27, 2025
6:30-8:00 p.m.
The Wisconsin Conference is an Immigrant Welcoming Conference. To learn more about what this means and how your congregation and you can get involved in immigration justice work, including accessing recordings of numerous online workshops: Immigrant Welcoming Conference page.
The IWG connects monthly (usually on the second Tuesday of the month at 1pm) via Zoom, maintains an email list, and sponsors/produces informative online webinars and workshops.
Register here for the IWG workshop, “Responding to the Immmigration Justice Crisis as People of faith: A Conversation” on Thursday, February 27, from 6:30-8pm, on Zoom. For more information about the workshop, please see the Immigrant Welcoming Conference page.
To learn more about how to get involved with the Immigration Working Group, email Lisa Hart, Associate Conference Minister for Faith Formation and Justice Ministries.
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Immigration Justice Education
"Know Your Rights Training"
Sunday, March 2nd
11:15 a.m. -- 1 p.m.
At Orchard Ridge UCC on Gilbert Rd. in Madison
This event is being held at Orchard Ridge UCC and led by "Wisconsin Faith Voices"
Select Here for more information.
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Luke House Update
In one of my previous requests asking for volunteers to join the Christ The King (CTK) Luke House 3rd Tuesday share meal, I (Lynne Toseff)stated we were so happy for the confirmation students who had been there the last few months. These were the confirmation candidates from the combined churches of CTK. I'm sorry if anyone was confused by that.
Last night, February 18, we served about 70 neighbors. We had 9 volunteers and served a wonderful meal.
March 18 is our next time to volunteer at Luke House. Would love to answer any questions you may have. Lynne Toseff (608-556-0719). Have a blessed day.
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Weekly Creation Care Topic
Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
This week’s Tip: Recycle: PIZZA BOX update in case you missed it: If your waste hauler is Pellitteri (most of us in Dane Co), we can now put the whole box into the recycle bin, grease spots & all. Please remove any food chunks, plastic or napkins. Pellitteri shares with us that according to the American Forest & Paper Association, pizza boxes are made of high-quality corrugated paper, which can be recycled at least 7 times. A study by WestRock, one of the largest box manufacturers in the U.S., estimates that there are approximately 3 billion pizza boxes used in the U.S. annually, which represents an estimated 600,000 tons of highly desired corrugated material that should be recycled & not needlessly wasted.
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A Few Words from Pastor Bryan...
and Cameron Trimble
Well once again my good friend and colleague Cameron Trimble has been using her daily email meditations to speak powerfully into what is going on in our country and in the world right now. I found her meditation from this morning so on point and on time that I wanted you all to have at least part of it. As you'll see, she writes the following:
"Jesus ... didn’t overthrow Rome. He gathered a small, resilient community, teaching them how to love fiercely, resist injustice nonviolently, and care for the least among them. That’s how transformation always starts—not from the top down, but from the ground up."
This quote and her remarks about "creating islands of coherence" are wonderful reminders to us of what a vital and alive church can be right now in the midst of a lot of chaos. I will look forward to exploring all of this together with you as we lean into 2025 together.
I also was impressed, touched by, and grateful for the letter to Bishops and Clergy (and all of us) written in the past couple of weeks by Pope Francis in response to policies impacting immigrants around the world and especially in the United States. Here is a link to that letter for those of you who would like to read it.
Be sure to be in church this Sunday to cheer Donna Grossman on as she shares the message, and I'll see you again on March 2nd if not before.
Pastor Bryan
From Rev. Cameron Trimble
When Leadership Fails, Communities Must Rise
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed.” — Isaiah 10:1-2
While I don’t think we have ever seen the level of contempt for democratic values we see now, I do recognize that history is filled with moments when leaders broke the social contract, wielding power like a weapon instead of a responsibility. And every time, the antidote has been the same: ordinary people stepping up, choosing connection over chaos, truth over convenience, and courage over complacency.
The chemist Ilya Prigogine introduced a concept that has stuck with me lately. He studied how complex systems behave under stress and found that when chaos increases, small pockets of order—what he called “islands of coherence”—can stabilize the whole system. These islands don’t have to be big or powerful. They just need to hold steady, like anchor points in a storm, until the chaos burns itself out and new patterns can emerge.
That’s what we need now—those pockets of coherence. A congregation organizing a mutual aid fund for laid-off workers. Neighbors forming community defense networks. Teachers creating safe, honest spaces for students amid book bans and curriculum censorship. Communities protecting their LGBT+ citizens. Even a circle of friends committing to honest, thoughtful conversations in a time of spin and propaganda.
Jesus modeled this kind of leadership long before Prigogine gave it a name. He didn’t overthrow Rome. He gathered a small, resilient community, teaching them how to love fiercely, resist injustice nonviolently, and care for the least among them. That’s how transformation always starts—not from the top down, but from the ground up.
So when the news feels overwhelming, ask yourself: Where can I create an island of coherence today? Where can I show up with love, clarity, and courage? No single act will fix everything. But every act—every protest, every meal shared, every truth spoken in love—pushes back against the chaos. And if enough of us hold steady, those small islands might just become the foundation of something new.
We are in this together,
Cameron
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