"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 | |
Below are the weekly programs. You can find brief descriptions of these weekly programs on our website. Clickable links are in blue and italicized. | |
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. | |
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. | |
Sunday, July 7, 10:00 am, Worship, Birthday and Communion Sunday
Sunday, July 7, 5:30 - 7:00 pm, Teen Youth Monthly Meeting, Fellowship Area
Wednesday, July 10, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Healing Prayer Service (In person & Online), Sanctuary
Thursday, July 11, NO SaLT Monthly Meeting - Rescheduled to 7/18
Sunday, July 14, 5:30 - 6:45 pm, Younger Youth Monthly Meeting, Fellowship Area
Tuesday, July 16, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Creation Care Team Bi-Monthly Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Thursday, July 18, 10:00 Visitation, 11:00 Service followed by lunch, Sanctuary & Fellowship area
Thursday, July 18, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Rescheduled SaLT Monthly Meeting, (In person & Online), Multipurpose Room
Thursday, July 18, NO NION Monthly Meeting
Sunday, July 21, 10:00 am Outdoor Worship Service
Sunday, July 28, 5:30 - 8:00 pm Games, Food & Fire Circle, Outdoor firepit
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Thank you to this weekend's volunteers!
Ushers/Greeters: Unknown volunteers
Hospitality Hosts: Martha Olsen, Joan Jacobsen, Julie Woodward
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Teen Youth Group
Sunday, July 7th, 5:30-7 p.m!
Join us for games, discussion, and pizza as always! We will have our volleyball net up! Bring a friend!
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News at McFarland UCC
(Note: Clickable links are blue and italicized.)
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Access to watch Where Olive Trees Weep Movie extended to July 31
Looking to learn more about the roots of the conflict in the Middle East? Where Olive Trees Weep is a new film that explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice through the lens provided by the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people. The film was created by Science and Nonduality (SAND) before the current conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.
On June 25th, about 40 individuals (in person and via Zoom) at McFarland UCC took part in the World People’s Premier of this film. Based on sharing and discussion after the film, it was a profound experience for participants that corresponds with one of the online comments about the film: “I dare anyone to watch and come away unchanged.”
Access to view the Where Olive Trees Weep via Zoom has been extended until the end of July. Use this link to register and make a donation (even $0 works): https://sand.thrivecart.com/where-olive-trees-weep/. Any contribution to view this movie supports planting olive trees in Palestine with Treedom for Palestine, humanitarian aid in Gaza with Middle East Children Alliance, and trauma healing in Palestinian communities with Catharsis Holistic Healing and other partner organizations.
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Jackie Cairns Memorial
June 17, 1928 – June 27, 2024
The Celebration of Life Memorial Service for Jackie Cairns will be held on Thursday, July 18 at our church. Visitation will be 10-11 am with a service at 11 a.m. followed by lunch.
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Would You Like to Become an Official Member of McFarland UCC?
We will receive new members to our congregation during Outdoor Worship on Sunday, June 21st. If you would like to join our church officially or find out more about what this means, please let Pastor Bryan know. Basically, what it means is that you want to make our congregation your "church home," and that you are going to be involved in sharing the work of being church together. The only privilege members enjoy that non-members do not is a vote at any official congregation meetings. Beyond that everyone is fully welcome to participate in every way whether or not they are official members. More than anything it's a way of publicly saying, "I want to be a part of this church family and make a commitment to sharing the joys and challenges of what we are and do together."
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Be an usher.
Help in the kitchen.
No experience is required...and it's fun!
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Weekly Creation Care Tips -
Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
This week’s Tip: Reduce: We invite you to join the millions of people in 190 countries who participate in the Plastic Free July Challenge to be part of the solution to plastic pollution. This year’s campaign, “Small Steps, Big Difference”, focuses on small changes we all can make by choosing 1 single-use plastic to avoid for the month and seeing how easy it can be to continue. Even one change individually will have a massive impact collectively. Check out the global challenge, take a quiz, watch a video, make a poster, and learn much, much more at www.plasticfreejuly.org Make it a family challenge for the month by saving plastic items you do end up with & then brainstorm ideas on how to avoid at least some of those items in the future. We will have a place at church to report your creative plans and successes throughout July to share our collective impact.
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Pastor Bryan Gone Next Sunday
July 14, 2024
Tom Ludwig Will Lead Worship Next Week!
Pastor Bryan will be away from Monday, July 8 through Monday, July 15th for Continuing Education and to teach a seminar at the Wild Goose Progressive Christian Music and Arts Festival in North Carolina. Jean Duchrow (608-335-3772) and our Befrienders Team are available for pastoral care, and in emergencies Pastor Kris Gorton (608) 438-6307) will be available if necessary.
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A Few Words from Pastor Bryan
...and Comedian Bill Maher
I'm writing this on the 4th of July. I really hope you're all having a beautiful day off and that you're enjoying yourselves somehow.
As I've stated many times in my sermons near holidays like the 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day, trying to combine biblically grounded faith with nationalism and patriotism can easily get complicated. If you were in church last Sunday, you know I tried to do my best to give us opportunities during worship to both give thanks for the best that our nation stands for and also to name and lament some of the failures of our country to live up to our own best ideals. It's hard to keep those things in balance--gratitude for the best we're capable of while also honestly naming and owning our shortcomings and failures--and yet the Love and commitment to Truth at the heart of the path of Jesus requires that we keep trying. To be honest, it can get a bit exhausting at times can't it? This kind of deep integrity requires energy, humility, courage, and openness. It would be easier in some ways to just take a side, get drunk on the intoxication of our own "rightness," and regard those who disagree with us as "the danger." I more than understand the temptation.
I think a lot of us are feeling the tension of this moment of history in our nation. Last week's debate, followed by the Supreme Court decision to grant the president full immunity from prosecution for all "official acts," left a lot of people stunned and bewildered to put it mildly. I am among them.
Somewhat surprisingly, God spoke a word of hope, clarity, and even Grace to me this week through the voice of the extremely anti-relgious comedian Bill Maher. It came through an interview he did just days before the presidential debate at The Aspen Institute. You can find it on YouTube and here's a link to it, but PLEASE DON'T LISTEN if you're offended by rough (extremely rough at times) language and his relentless brand of humor and commentary. I don't agree with him on lots of things, and I'm not even suggesting you listen to this interview unless you're willing to risk being offended. But there were two things he said that I found very helpful on this 4th of July, 2024. I'll just paraphrase them.
The first thing he said that I'm referring to is that while he does not like or agree with Donald Trump at all (he's not a Biden fan either!), he refuses to hate all the people who do like former president Trump, because that's over half of the country. He said that he refuses to hate people with whom he disagrees--even on serious topics of great consequence-- and that we ALL have to stop doing this. He said that if there are people with whom we are simply never going to agree politically, we need to agree to talk about other things instead. But we need to keep talking to each other. We need to keep seeing "the other" as a fellow human. We need to find things we do agree on, share some laughter, and walk away friends. Simple common sense. But it hit me--sometimes love means knowing what topics NOT to get into with someone, and knowing what topics will keep you connected and in touch with the fact that we're all humans and that we need to live together in as much peace as possible. We need to be able to love and enjoy and laugh with people who have different opinions and perspectives even on VERY important matters. That keeps us all safer and keeps us all in conversation so that if and when we HAVE to deal with things that are frightening but that must be confronted, we'll do so as friends who see each others' strengths and good qualities and have many things in common. It's not a high bar. Really just common sense. Let's start there.
Second, he said that he's tired of very privileged and secure people acting as though "things couldn't possibly get worse." Yes, democracy as we've known it is at stake in some very real ways, and that's nothing to minimize at all. And yes, there are serious existential issues at stake (such as policies connected to climate change). But he insisted that even if this presidential election does not go the way either party might want it to, this will NOT be the worst thing that could happen. There ARE worse things. He said he refuses to give the evening cable news and electoral politics that much power over his own nervous system and overall sense of well-being. And then he said this. He said instead of constantly complaining about all that's wrong with the world and with our country, he wishes people would just take a moment to walk outside, look around, and realize how lucky we are to live in this country and to enjoy all the freedom and opportunity we do have. No--it's not perfect. Far from it. Yes, there's PLENTY to push back against and take issue with. But could we just maybe chill out for a minute and admit that we're pretty darn lucky to be here in this amazing country with the freedoms we enjoy--because there are plenty of countries where these basic freedoms don't exist.
Oh I could push back. But he got to me. I do feel fortunate to be born into so much liberty and opportunity. And while I could quickly say, "Yeah, that's an educated, privileged, white heterosexual male saying that--this country's always been good for you"-- or "yeah and ALL of this is in danger and that's why we need to fight"--the simple truth is that I live in a county where I'm free to say whatever I want and not worry that soldiers or police will show up in the night and take me away.
Will this country stay that way? Well, yeah, that's why so many of us are stunned and bewildered right now. And I'm going to do whatever I can to work for freedom and liberty and "justice for all" to coin a phrase that rings rather hollow at the moment. I'm concerned about this week's events and about the prospect of an America in which presidents are free to execute and imprison their critics and opponents (or anyone they don't like) with no fear of accountability, let alone consequence. I'm concerned that all judicial processes ultimately lead to a Supreme Court that is clearly ideological and in the pocket of moneyed interests. I'm concerned that so-called Christian Nationalists are using a distorted version of the Scriptures and the Gospel I love to make it more likely that violent authoritarians will hold the highest offices in the country and will be able to forcefully impose their will. And by the way, if you'd like to listen to an evangelical mega church pastor named Dave Johnson give a brilliant response to the dangers of Christian Nationalism, check out this link. The pastor says a lot of the same things you've heard me talking and preaching about, especially in connection to Palm Sunday.
But today--July 4th, 2024--I'm going to take a clue from Bill Maher. I'm going to chill out and simply go to a place of gratitude. And please hear this. I'm going to TRUST GOD. No matter what happens, the Big Love will be with us and see us through. Our deepest well-being and security is not contingent upon the outcome of a U.S. presidential election. We may well be witnessing the beginning of the end of the "American experiment." If we go down, we will bring ourselves down in a clashing house built on the pillars of predatory capitalism and greed. That's no small thing. But ALL nations and empires come and go. God remains. Love remains. And I'm saying that from a place of deep resolve and sober assessment of what's going on. Not naivete.
This country's far from perfect. But I do feel VERY lucky to be able to live here and to enjoy all that we get to share and enjoy. Let's use our freedom in ways that are life-giving to all, and let's remind each other again and again that God wants the very best for all of us. ALL of us.
Hope to see you Sunday folks.
God bless America, and every other nation.
Pastor Bryan
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