We look forward to seeing many of you this weekend at Green Lake Conference Center.

Meeting guidebook

Congregational worship materials for Sunday, June 9



Check your inbox for late-breaking Annual Meeting updates. Wisconsin Conference Life will be back next week with a special edition containing the biggest highlights from Annual Meeting.

Associate Conference Ministers Rachel Bauman and Michael Jones have come up with a new opportunity for you to connect with ministry colleagues across the Conference: a Monthly Ministry Roundtable that will gather by Zoom from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, starting today. Click to register for today’s roundtable.



Each roundtable will be devoted to open discussion of a different ministry topic, and everyone is welcome -- authorized ministers, laypeople and anyone interested in the topic. Simply bring your experience and ideas, or come looking for fresh thinking.

Today’s topic is “Loving Your Neighbor in an Election Season.” Rachel and Michael will share materials developed by the Wisconsin Council of Churches and discuss how they might be used in various ministry settings.

The Wisconsin Conference Creation Care Team has announced a new round of grants available to UCC congregations. Grants of up to $1,000 are available to support congregational initiatives that demonstrate a deepening love of creation and strive to effect a positive change in a church’s relationship with the environment. Funding comes from the Wisconsin Conference and a Neighbors in Need Grant from the United Church of Christ.

Eligible projects must include a substantial creation care component. Examples include installation of solar panels or LED lighting, energy-saving upgrades, faith formation programs that address care for creation, advocacy workshops, and prairie restoration. In addition, projects must reach out or be visible to the wider community. This may be as simple as making sure that your project is visible from the street, hosting a celebration for community members, or arranging coverage by a local news organization. Click for more information and to apply for a grant.

Since 2020, the Creation Care Team has awarded grants totaling $27,000 to 24 congregations. Most recently, Union Congregational UCC in Green Bay received a grant to help finance a project that converted the existing lawn and landscaping to native tree and plant species, and Salem UCC in Verona received support to create a pollinator prairie. Questions? Email Creation Care Team member Kathy Bartilson or Lisa Hart, associate conference minister for faith formation and justice ministries.

Here’s one more opportunity for individuals and congregations who want to get more deeply involved in ministry to God’s beautiful, but fragile, creation: the second annual retreat of the Great Lakes Collaborative UCC, scheduled for Aug. 18-20 at Cedar Valley Camp and Retreat Center in West Bend.

The retreat will offer ideas for those just starting their Creation Care journeys and those who want to push beyond church and home to broader engagement with their communities. More experienced Creation Care activists will learn about resources that can help them support individuals, congregations and communities, and advocate for diversification away from fossil fuels and companies that pollute the environment.



Click for more information and to register. Questions? Email Lisa Hart, associate conference minister for faith formation and justice ministries.

Conversation with the Supportive Ministries Team

The Supportive Ministries Team will host an hourlong Zoom conversation with ministry colleagues from around the Wisconsin Conference to explore questions that can “Nurture the Soul of the Beloved Community.”

Time: Noon

Date: June 5

Register now 

Safe Zone LGBTQIA+ Ally Training

Participants will explore best practices for creating a welcoming, inclusive space for persons of all gender and sexual identities in our churches and beyond, and

learn about different LGBTQIA+ identities and current understandings of gender and sexuality. Co-facilitated by Cal Evoniuk and the Rev. Dr. Julie Mavity Maddalena, who facilitate Lakeland University’s Safe in the Lake LGBTQIA+ Ally training.

Time: 6 to 9 p.m.

Date: June 10

Where: First Congregational UCC, 310 Bluff Ave., Sheboygan

Register now

Politics, Polarization and Prophetic Ministry

As attention focuses on the 2024 elections, what will be the role of churches that embody the prophetic tradition of the Christian faith? What will preachers say from the pulpit? You’ll have a chance to ponder those questions in this UCC webinar with the help of featured panelists Obery Hendricks, author of "The Politics of Jesus" and "Christians against Christianity," and Leah Schade, author of “Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide" and “Creation-Crisis Preaching.” Can’t make the webinar at the scheduled time? Sign up anyway to receive a recording.

Time: Noon

Date: June 12

Register now 

Great Lakes & West Central Regional Youth Event

Young people who have completed sixth through 12th grade are invited to attend with their pastors, youth leaders and adult chaperones. Programming will be designed around worship and liturgy created by The Many, a diverse music-making collective that invites people to sing together about peace and justice and a world where all belong. The event theme, “Love > Fear,” is taken from one of their songs.

Date: July 17-20

Place: Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois

Register by June 15.

Narrative Budgets: Telling your Story by the Numbers 

A narrative budget that translates the line items of a traditional budget into a story of how your congregation makes a difference can be a helpful tool for a stewardship campaign or annual meeting. By telling the story of our congregations' impact, we can inspire generosity in our donors.

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Date: July 24

Register now

Great Lakes Creation Care Collaborative gathering.

We’ll meet Aug. 18 to 20 at Cedar Valley Retreat Center. Congregations from at least six conferences in the Great Lakes region will be invited to adopt a body of water. More info and registration here.