News/Events
SWA Clergy Support Check-in Association Minister Lorraine Ceniceros:
June 4-10:00 a.m.
June 11-10:00 a.m.
June 18-10:00 a.m
June 25-10:00 a.m.
Lorraine is also available for meetings and preaching engagements. You can access her calendar here.
New book by One of our Clergy
Entertaining Angels, by Larry Balleine
Former pastor at Zwingli UCC, Monticello
The setting is a Wisconsin dairy farm and the story deals with the themes of change, loss and hope.
Available on Amazon Books or from Parsons Porch Books
Videos of Andrew Warner’s Webinars Available
Treasurers and Financial Secretaries video
Stewardship Chairs and Teams video
Southwest Annual Meeting
Cancelled
See Annual meeting page for more information and registration.
Meeting will be held electronically. Only the necessary business of voting on positions to be filled.
Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting
“Healing Our Earthly Home”
The Annual meeting will be held through Zoom, Saturday, June 6, from 9;00 to noon, for the purpose of abbreviated worship; programming on the theme, “Healing Our Earthly Home”; and conducting Conference business.
More information here
Register here
Recommended Reading:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Cathedral on Fire : A Church Handbook for the Climate Crisis by Brooks Berndt
Forever Earthbound by Chuck Tennessen
Climate Crisis Webinar: Moving from Crisis to Hope: Responding to the Kairos Call to Climate Action
June 11 at 7:00 p.m.
UCC Environmental Justice Minister Brooks Berndt is offering this webinar, based on his book “Cathedral on Fire!: A Church Handbook for the Climate Crisis”
For more information.
Register
Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar for pastors and lay leaders offers an opportunity to explore faithful, practical, and tested ways for promoting generosity in our congregations. We will draw on current research, seek guidance from the wisdom of scripture, and discuss the best practices in church-based fundraising. Taught by the Rev. Andy DeBraber, Generosity Officer of the national setting & Rev. Andrew Warner Director of Development Wisconsin Conference
Virtual meetings via Zoom, 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Dates: June 24, July 8, July 22, August 5, August 19, and September 2.
Ministry teams of 2 or more people (pastor plus lay leaders) are encouraged to sign up; the program is designed specifically for teams.
Click here for more information and to register.
The Creation Care Team of the Wisconsin Conference
Creation Care – everyone’s talking about it! What are congregations doing? We’d appreciate hearing from you – 
take 10 minutes today to contribute your responses to our 2020 Creation Care Survey. Thank you!
Here’s an incentive! Please complete the survey by May 15, 2020 to help inform our team and define our future work. As a further incentive, all churches that complete the survey by the due date will be entered in a drawing for a copy of a children’s book. If you miss the due date, we would still appreciate your input at any future time.
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Borrow “God’s Doors Are Open to All”
Created to remind us to boldly stand in Solidarity with LGBTQ & Orlando, Florida communities to represent our Open and Affirming congregations and to encourage us all to let love be stronger than hate.
Click here for more information.
Interested in Visiting Palestine and Israel?
Rev. Nick Utphall will be leading an eleven day trip to the Holy Land in November.
For more information click here.
Damascus Project
Returning to Sacred Texts and Finding Stories You Can Live In
Leadership development initiative to form spiritually-grounded leaders for a changing church.
Registration and more information
Communities of Practice Groups for Clergy and Christian Educators
More information
Communities of Practice for Christian Education Faith Formation
More information
Thinking about retirement or already retired?
The Conference has started a Facebook Group to discuss the many issues involved in transitioning to retirement.
It is open to all Authorized Clergy and any denomination. More information.
Lay Leaders take note!
Are you a lay leader for a congregation which has called or is calling a pastor who will be serving in that for the first time?
New resources are being developed to help with the transition from seminary to a first call in ministry. Members of the SW Association that are working on this are: Rev. Mark Yurs, Rev. Leslie Schenk, Dave Pearson and Rev. Joanne Thomson.
New Process for Licensed Ministry
The Southwest Association, along with the three other Associations in the Wisconsin Conference, has adopted a new process for licensed ministry. Both the Conference Commission on Church and Ministry and our national MESA (Ministerial Excellence, Support, and Authorization) team have developed a new framework for understanding licensed ministry. We encourage you to take a look at www.ucc.org/ministers to learn more about the changes affecting the authorization of ministry in the United Church of Christ.
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