Worship This Sunday

 

In Advent

On Martin Luther King weekend, we consider what it is to be God’s servant when the arc of the universe bending toward justice seems incredibly long and tragically far away. Worship is shaped by ELW setting 10 and includes communion.
We also pause with others across our synod to celebrate Lutheran Campus Ministry.
A litany we’ll be using in worship is adapted from Campus Pastor Preston Fields’ sermon he shared. Click here to watch.
Livestream
Bulletin
Liturgy
Reading sheet
Hymns
 

In Hope

This Sunday morning, Community of Hope will welcome a dear, beloved retired local Pastor, Rev. Mark Yurs, who served for many years at Salem UCC in Verona. John's gospel words revolve around his impressions of his baptism of Jesus. He names Jesus "the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." The Chosen One. What does it mean that we are baptized with the Holy Spirit? What do we see today in Jesus that compels us to faith and action, belief and mission, public worship and social witness? 

Livestream
Bulletin
 

MCC Announcements

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Adult Ed

This Sunday in 9:00 Adult Ed, along with the First Nations and the MCC group, we’ll hear from Mya Estebo, the first recipient of our Madison College scholarship around Land Acknowledgment reparations, and learn about how the budget intends to continue financing that.
Upcoming sessions:

• Jan. 25: Pastor Jen will share from last year’s UCC Conference and General Synod meetings on directions and focus of the UCC (a parallel to Meier and Raelene Freitag’s session in Nov. on the ELCA Churchwide Assembly)

• Feb. 1: Anna Henning, with her view as a lawyer in the Capitol, will share updates on the Wis. Supreme Court

• Feb. 8: Lynn Breedlove and guests will share about Solace House, a residential hospice facility for people who’d been homeless

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Children & Family Ministry News

This week in faith formation we'll explore questions of racial justice and faith with group drumming and a fun collaborative art project, downstairs 9-10am. 

Save the Date: Pre-Lent Pancake Party after worship on 2/15!

 

Intergenerational MLK Service Projects - Monday

MCC is hosting a community service day from 10:00am-12:30pm on MLK Day, Jan. 19. All ages are welcome to assemble quilts, knit/crochet, or make bag lunches to support Lutheran World Relief and Porchlight. Pizza and salad will be served at noon. Family and friends welcome! RSVPs appreciated.  

 

Annual Meetings

The MCC Congregational Meetings are to be held on Sunday, January 25 after worship services (plus lunch).
The amazing, immense annual reports are available digitally at this link. Hard copies will be available Sunday or by contacting Kaisa (though we encourage you to use the digital version to conserve resources, if possible). Thank you to all who wrote reports, and to Kaisa for all the effort to compile them on a tight deadline. 

Annual Meeting Lunch Help
Kristi Williams is again willing to coordinate the annual meeting lunch (between individual meetings and MCC meeting) on Jan. 26, but she is having foot surgery shortly beforehand so will need EXTRA assistance. We are especially looking for someone to take over egg salad preparation from Lois Komai and for folks willing to come early to make sandwiches (8:00am). If you are willing to help, please let Kaisa know.
 

Paper Angel

The paper angel was a project at an MCC women’s event that became part of our Christmas décor for decades. As its time in the building comes to an end, we give thanks, and also offer it for anybody who might like to claim it. (Note however that it is fragile, showing its age, and may be difficult to transport.)

 

Equal Justice Initiative Calendars

The Equal Justice Initiative (http://eji.org) creates a calendar each year of racial injustice history, with daily entries spanning 400 years of US history. Informative, educational, disturbing, enlightening, for the work still to be done it can be a tool of growth and justice.

The FARE group has a set of these calendars for 2026 that we will have for sale in the Shalom room for the next several weeks for $3 each. A preview of the calendar is on the EJI site here.

 

Update on Food Scrap Bins

A quick update on the food scrap bins.  Neighbors and church members filled the 2 bins in December.  That amounted to 130 gallons and 600 pounds of food scraps that did not make it to the landfill. Thank You!! There was some contamination, so locks were put back on the bins.  If you need the combination, please let Jean Einerson know.  Please cut your food scraps; (whole fruit and vegetables) it will provide more space in the bins.  

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Jail Ministry

The board for the Madison Area Jail Ministry is looking for members. They have been meeting once/month, on the first Thursday at 6:30. If you care about this ministry and might be interested, let Nick know.

 

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