WI Conference Weekly ENews - November 23, 2022

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Celebration for Bishop Dan Schwerin

There will be a celebration for Bishop Schwerin in a service of worship on Saturday, December 17, 11:00 am, at First UMC Waukesha, 121 Wisconsin Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186. Refreshments will follow.  In lieu of gifts consider a contribution to either the ‘Keep Our Story Growing’ capital campaign at Sun Prairie UMC where Dan's wife, Julie has been worshipping, or the Wisconsin Conference Boy Scouts’ Survivors Fund, a feature of Dan’s ministry. Click here to make a donation.

First UMC Madison holds Acknowledgement Ceremony for
Ho-Chunk People

The First United Methodist Church acknowledged that it resides on the ancestral homeland of the Ho-Chunk people.
An acknowledgment ceremony was held Monday at the church, which sits at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Dayton Street. As part of the event, a red granite stone embedded with a plaque marking the ancestral homeland was unveiled.
The acknowledgment is the culmination of the work within the Racial Equity and Justice class at the church. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway was one of the guests at the ceremony and spoke as part of the event. Other speakers were Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, Rev. Dr. Mark Fowler, Pastor of First Church, Marlon WhiteEagle, President of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Elliot Funmaker, Sr., leader of the Wisconsin Dells Singers, Janice Rice, Elder, and Dr. Jack Daniels III, President of Madison Area College. 
In addition to placing the granite stone, church members and friends crafted a land acknowledgment statement which was read at the ceremony, and funded an endowed scholarship for an Indigenous student at Madison Area College.

    
        President White Eagle with                       Bishop Jung and White Eagle                                    Rev. Dr. Mark Fowler
         Ada Deer and Wisconsin Singers

The Wisconsin Conference of the UMC is excited to announce its partnership with Vanco. We invite you to join us at our upcoming presentation where we will introduce you to Vanco and share how they provide congregations with tools for online giving, mobile app giving and engagement and much more.  In this brief presentation, we’ll show you…

• Why the UMC and the Wisconsin Conference has partnered with Vanco.
• The reasons over 4,000 UMC congregations use Vanco.
• How Vanco helps you tell your story with your own photos and words on a giving page.
• The ways Vanco enhances connections with your congregants – including a free app.
• The significant price savings Wisconsin UMC congregations receive through our partnership with Vanco.

 
Join us for this enlightening presentation on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 12PM CT. Click this link to register!

Renewing Rural Ministry- Online Via Zoom
January 28, 2022  /  9:00am - 12:00pm 

Across North America, urban centers are growing, creating new challenges and opportunities for rural cities and towns. Rural churches, once a centerpiece of small- town life, need new tools for loving their neighbors, sharing the gospel, and connecting in community. This gathering will help our churches be prepared for the next season of ministry.

If you are a pastor, lay leader, or are simply interested in vital ministry in small towns, this opportunity is for you. There is an $18.00 non-refundable registration fee. 
Learn more

Wisconsin UM Camps Prepare Annual Giving Tuesday Campaign to Support Camper Scholarships
 
Join Wisconsin UM Camps on November 29^th for an opportunity to unite for Giving Tuesday. For 2022, we are focusing solely on raising funds for our Camper Scholarship Fund.
 
For many families, the price of attending camp at Lake Lucerne and Pine Lake is more than ideal. It’s clear that this is a need, as in 2022, more than $16,000 of camper scholarships were granted to families wishing to attend camp.
 
Both sites and WIUM Camps are committed to the economic justice of making camp financially viable for all who wish to come. This fund is used to make sure that camp is affordable for as many people as possible. We hope that anyone who wants to come to camp, can come to camp. We have matching donors who have already committed to giving this year, to hopefully encourage you to discern your own call to give. If you or your church would like to consider being a large donor ($500 or more), please email Nick Coenen (ncoenen@wisconsinumc.org) or Tanner Clark (tclark@wisconsinumc.org) before Tuesday, November 29^th so we can encourage additional giving through you!
 
We anticipate in 2023, that there will be a similar need, if not more of a need, as the economic state of the world continues to change and evolve. Please partner with us on November 29^th as we strive to make sure every camper has the chance to build community and be equipped as disciples, so that all can experience the love an and grace of God.
 
On Giving Tuesday, head to our donor page (https://wiumcamps.campbraingiving.com/) to make a donation. Watch our camp Facebook and Instagram pages for updates on our progress throughout the day!

South Milwaukee United Methodist Church - Veterans Day Recognition

The South Milwaukee United Methodist Church is making itself known in the community as a church of kindness. Several projects have been done in the past several months to honor and recognize community groups. On Sunday, November 13, the church Kindness Team planned a special worship service that honored 40 church and community veterans. Read more

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 

November is Native American Heritage Month
Nov. 1- 30

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — While The United Methodist Church observes Native American Ministries Sunday on the third Sunday after Easter, United Methodists are also encouraged to celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November. Also this month, United Methodists elected the denomination's first Native American episcopal leader, Bishop David Wilson.
See worship resources
UM News: South Central elects Wilson as bishop

Global Ministries
Give Love Encourages Year End Giving

ATLANTA — Global Ministries, the worldwide mission and development agency of The United Methodist Church, invites churches and individuals to give love, joy, hope and peace through a denomination-wide yearend giving campaign. The United Methodist Committee on Relief, the denomination’s relief arm, is part of Global Ministries. 
Read press release
To give

Support United Methodist Communications on Giving Tuesday

Nashville, Tenn.: You can support the communication ministries of The United Methodist Church by participating in Giving Tuesday on November 29, 2022. Your financial contribution will help enhance ministry and reflect the church to the world.

The pandemic underscored the importance of communication and technology. United Methodist Communications continues to serve the church in essential and relevant ways: providing resources to equip church leaders for ministry, building infrastructure to connect the church globally, and sharing the stories of United Methodists making a difference in the world.
Read press release

Ask the UMC - Clearing up Misconceptions about Disaffiliation At Ask The UMC, we continue to answer questions from congregations wondering about the future of The United Methodist Church, whether they should consider disaffiliating from it, and what happens if they do. Some of these questions reflect widespread misperceptions or misinformation that some congregations are receiving as they discern their next steps. This is the sixth of a series of articles offering accurate and objective responses to such misperceptions or misinformation. All articles in the series are based on a variety of questions we have received multiple times through email, phone calls and live chat. See a listing of all of the articles in the series here.  Read story

A New Project with our Partnership with Bolivia

As we work through our collaborative relationship among our Conference and the Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia, we are thrilled to announce that we have a new project for us to work on as the WI Conference of the UMC.
Through Global Ministries and as a committee and the result of Pastor Anita Lang’s recent trip to Bolivia and learning about the needs of our brothers and sisters there, a new project for the Wisconsin Conference is providing sewing machines for the Methodist Women in Bolivia.

These amazing sisters are strong, devout Methodist ladies who are proud of their faith. They require sewing machines to support themselves, their homes, and local churches. They currently only have one machine that can accommodate 30 ladies, and they are unable to raise production. Each sewing machine costs around $450.00, and we have set a goal of purchasing 40 sewing machines. To donate please click here: https://secure.myvanco.com/L-YRWE/home

#StillInMission Episode 49 - Dec 1, 2022 United Methodist Missionaries are #stillinmission and we hope that you'll join us to learn more! Join us as we explore the transforming work of United Methodist missionaries serving around the world. You will have the opportunity to meet in a small group to hear a presentation from a single missionary during the call. Ann Hidalgo serves as a Professor of Theological Studies with the Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana in Costa Rica. Genilma Boehler serves as a Lecturer of Theology with the United Methodist University of Mozambique in Mozambique. Imourana Bockarie serves as the Assistant Farm Project Manager with the International Leadership Institute of Southern Africa in Zambia. Registration is limited. You will get a confirmation email once your registration is accepted. If the limit is reached, you will get priority for future events. Dec 1, 2022 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)   Register here

UM Religion & Race
Advent 2022: God's Unimaginable Surprises

Our free four-week Advent resource for clergy is out now! It includes sermon starters and children's sermons based on the Isaiah lectionary texts and the theme of God's unimaginable surprises.
Read more