WI Conference Weekly ENews - June 7, 2023

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Coming To Annual Conference? Here Are Some Helpful Reminders: 

Annual Conference is just around the corner from June 9-12th at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, WI (333 Main Street, Green Bay, WI). 2023 Conference Materials can be found on the Conference website or by clicking here. Livestream links are on the Annual Conference Website. Please stop by the Registration desk to check in, as all attendees must wear a name tag at all times in the plenary space and meeting rooms. Don't forget to bring your lanyard, a sweater, device for voting, and a portable charger! We'll see you soon in Green Bay. Safe travels!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! UMCS Community Block Party - Friday, June 23, 2023

The 3^rd Annual Day of Celebration Community Block Party is coming up on Friday, June 23^rd, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and we are looking forward to enjoying great food, music, and fun with our residents, neighbors, and friends. There will be a live band, bounce house, carnival games, three food stations, yummy snacks, and back by popular demand…the dunk tank! Get ready to see your favorite UMCS friends get dunked!

It’s a big event; therefore, we are looking for help from our favorite volunteers to help support us on the day. Below is the link to our event sign-up genius, which lists jobs, times, and the number of volunteers needed. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0a4ea8aa2cabf94-umcs3

*On the Sign-up Genius, you can just put in the comments if you cannot volunteer the whole timeframe when you are available. We are appreciative of any time you can give us!

Wisconsin Annual Conference Disaffiliation Update

When the Annual Conference gathers in Green Bay on June 9, there will be 43 requests from local churches to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church and our annual conference. All the churches have met the deadlines and completed required steps of the Wisconsin Conference’s disaffiliation policy implementing The Book of Discipline ¶2553 up through making financial payments by May 26. A majority vote of members of the Wisconsin Annual Conference is required to approve the requests.

Following is a listing of the 43 churches by district:

North Central: Borth, Marshfield: Zion, Mauston, Poy Sippi, Spencer, Stoddard, Wonewoc.

North East: Argonne, Eden: Tabor, Eldorado: Salem, Forest Junction: Zion, Greenville: Faith, Lomira: Trinity, Neenah: Faith, Oakfield, Sheboygan: Fountain Park, Waukau/Eureka.

North West: none

South East: Cambridge: Willerup, Greenfield: Christ, Racine: Faithbridge, Union Grove, Waterford: Community.

South West: Arthur, Baraboo: Emanuel, Belmont, Benton, Blackhawk: Bethlehem, Bloomington, Boscobel, Gays Mills, Juda: Zion, Liberty Pole, Madison: Asbury, Mount Hope, Mt. Zion, New Hope, North Clayton, Retreat, Rewey, Soldiers Grove, Wauzeka: St. Paul’s, Whig, Wisconsin Dells-Delton.

Training Workshop at Annual Conference 2023
Growing Together: Cultivating Inclusive Life In The Church
In-person & Hybrid Option Available

On Monday, June 12, 2023, 9:00am - noon, we are hosting a workshop open to everyone in our Conference, particularly those attending Annual Conference. The intent of this workshop is to provide practical, ready-to-implement ideas for guiding our congregations toward greater inclusion and belonging. This workshop continues our Conference commitment to becoming Beloved Community in our Conference and churches. There is no cost for the workshop. If you have registered for lunch, we can continue discussion around the lunch tables. Workshop description

To sign up for the session, please contact Lori Denoyer at ldenoyer@wisconsinumc.org.

Affected by Disaffiliation? Find Out How You Can Move Forward With The WI Conference

The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  This is our mandate regardless of what circumstances come our way and pull us off track. This is a difficult time for many in The United Methodist Church. Some of our congregations in the Conference have voted to disaffiliate from the denomination. 

In any congregation that leaves, there are people who want to remain faithful to The United Methodist Church and remain a part of our denomination. We most certainly welcome you to remain United Methodist and carry on the legacy we have had as a denomination that is rooted in the historic faith in Jesus Christ, committed to social justice and welcoming all people.

If your church has decided to disaffiliate and you would like to remain United Methodist, please visit our website at https://www.wisconsinumc.org/moving-forward-with-beloved-community   

The Bell Tolls And The Food's Cooking!
Wolf Creek United Methodist Church

As it has done for decades, on Memorial Day Wolf Creek UMC fed lunch to the many people who observed Memorial Day services at next door Wolf Creek Cemetery. People come from great distances for Memorial Day at Wolf Creek's Cemetery, a burial ground dating from prior to the Civil War. The church bell rang 130 times after the American Legion's rifle salute to the fallen buried there. Wolf Creek UMC dates from 1882, a time when logging sluiced timber through Nevers Dam and made Wolf Creek a thriving small town on the St.Croix River. The congregation's present building is a converted two room school dating from 1922. -Submitted by Mark Peacock

Wauwatosa Ave UMC Celebrates 175 Years As A Congregation

May 21^st was a grand occasion as WAUMC celebrated 175 years, consecrated our new elevator and other improvements, and welcomed 8 new members including 5 confirmands. This was truly a celebration of the past as we heard from our oldest attending member Richard Bergman and from our co-chairs and longtime members Carolyn Dressler and Edith Brown; our present with the consecration of our elevator and other improvements that make the church fully accessible to all on every level; and our future when we heard Bishop Jung share his message on Mark 10:27 “with God all things are possible!” -Submitted by Paula Fink Read more

First UMC In Madison Hosts Safe Surrender Event

First United Methodist Church in Madison recently hosted a “Safe Surrender” event. In response to the overwhelming number of acts of violence involving guns occurring nationwide, and in the spirit of, “beating swords into plowshares,” people from around the area were invited to turn in their guns, no questions asked.  Saws were set up on site to immediately chop up the firearms. They will later be forged into garden tools.

Those donating the guns were offered gift cards to local grocery stores and gas stations. However, they noted they were happy to turn them in. Some stated the guns were old, or they didn’t use them and they were happy to find a place that would take them. One donor expressed concern that the guns he brought might be stolen from his home and then used in violent crimes.  The Safe Surrender event guaranteed that none of the 20 weapons received will be used in an act of violence, ever. For more information about Safe Surrender events, please contact Dan Elsass at elsassdan@gmail.com. -Submitted by Carol Oliver
Watch NBC15 News Story about Guns to Gardens at First UMC Madison

Share Your Story!

We are called to share the good news in all the ways we can. Sharing your stories is way for us to be in community together. Every church has a story to tell and we want to hear about them and what is happening in the life of your church.  We want to hear from churches around our conference so if you have a story that you would like included in an upcoming ENews please use the link below and fill out the form.  We would love to have pictures to accompany the story! Submit story here

Share Your Event!

We're looking for events that celebrate local church communities across the state. Help us spread the word about your upcoming event by sharing it with us here!  Please be sure that your submission provides complete details. Subject to our editorial review, we will add your event to our Events Calendar and share it in the weekly Enews. Submit your event here 

Facing the Future 2023 Registration is Open Now!
United Methodist Religion & Race

We are excited to invite you to join us for Facing the Future 2023 in Atlanta, GA from November 14th - 16th, where we will meet in person for the first time since 2018! As pastors serving in cross-racial/cross-cultural/multi-cultural settings, it is essential that we increase and strengthen our capacity to love and sit with difference as we navigate this historical moment. For this reason we are creating a virtual and in-person conference experience that meets the needs of clergy in life giving and sustaining ways. Our theme this year, Be3: Being, Belonging, and Becoming, will bring to life a supportive environment of affirmation and support, while also offering engaging multicultural worship and practical workshops to further equip you in your ministry journeys. Register Today!

Save the Date for Midwest Mission Iowa’s Grand Opening!
Midwest Mission Distribution Center

Save the Date for Midwest Mission Iowa’s Grand Opening! God’s plan is always greater than our plan, we just have to follow along. 

Back in November 2022, Midwest Mission’s board of directors and staff began to plan what it would look like to have a second location in Iowa. Danille Curtis had been our Iowa Coordinator for a couple of years, and she was excited to continue to grow the ministry opportunities available in Iowa. She was holding several volunteer days a month at Jefferson First United Methodist Church, and was seeing the excitement and the potential in the Jefferson community. With this information, the board of directors had agreed to a feasibility study that would be discussed in May 2023. Read more

Toolkit For Cross-racial/Cross-cultural Ministry Available
UM Religion & Race

WASHINGTON — The work of cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry requires one to juggle a variety of mindsets, heart sets and skill sets. The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race has developed a variety of resources to empower, prepare and equip ministry leaders across diverse ministry contexts to do their best work.
Download the resource