MIDDLETON COMMUNITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 645 Schewe Road Middleton WI 53562 PHONE: 608/831-4694 E-MAIL mccucc@middletonucc.org WEBSITE: www.middletonucc.org Address Service Requested

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID MADISON WI 53714

PERMIT NO. 4006

Middleton Community Church

Vision Statement

As a faithful church, we will provide opportunities for growth in our witness to the grace and love of God

through worship, fellowship, education, and outreach.

How to reach Jim Iliff

Church office: 831-4694 Cell Phone: 215-8924 Email: mccpastor@middletonucc.org

Middleton Community UCC 645 Schewe Road, Middleton, WI 53562

(2 miles west of the Beltline, at the corner of Old Sauk and Schewe Roads)

9:30 am Worship Service & Very Cool Sunday School

Nursery Care Available

Handicapped-Accessible

Staff

Pastor ............................................................................ James Iliff Faith Formation Director ..................................... Laura Crow Office................................................................................................ Int. Director of Music ..................... Mindy Nelson-Bergman Int. Director of Children’s Music ................. Janet Coughlin Pianist................................................................. Barbara Brown Nursery Coordinator ............................................. Erin Wilson Custodian ................................................................ Irvin Dennis

Office Hours: Monday—Thursday 8:00 a.m. to noon (Closed Fridays )

From Pastor Jim 1

Sept Worship 2

Celebration Sunday

3

Blessing of Backpacks

3

MCC Outdoor Workday

3

Sunday School 4

Confirmation 4

Adult Study 5

Inquirers Class 6

Nipa Huts 6

Indoor Cleaning 6

Food Gleaning 7

Adult Choir 7

Prayer Shawls 7

Dinner @ The Crossing

8

Bible Sunday 8

Just Bakery 8

MOM Updates 9

Care Ministry 9

Blessing of Animals

9

Food for 10

Calendar 11

In This Issue:

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y U C C T h e C o m m u n i c a t o r S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4

This summer, I’ve been using my pastor’s column to highlight and celebrate the history, heritage, identity, and mission of Middle-ton Community Church. So far, I’ve emphasized hospitality (“a church home for those who don’t have a home”), mission (“making a difference in our neighborhoods, communities, nation, and world”), and our church’s motto (“Connecting Faith and Life”) that describes us as a community that seeks to life our faith all week long.

But is it true? Does it accurately describe who we are? How does affect each one of us? And what difference does it make outside our own walls?

As I write these words, Ferguson, MO is being torn apart by racial tensions and violence. An Ebola epidemic is out of control and threatening to become a real ca-tastrophe. The middle class is shrinking and their ability to afford what most of us knew as a middle class lifestyle is eroding. Despite massive amounts of government spending, we seem a long way from ending poverty. Our national government has become gridlocked by partisan political infighting. And close to home, we witness the tragedies caused by disease, poverty, death, unemployment, family strife, neigh-borhood tensions, greed—need I go on?

It is easy to despair. It is easy to just give up, take what’s ours, hunker down, and ride out the storm. There are certainly many people who take that attitude. And some days, it seems like the only one that makes sense.

But over the years, I have come to know something of a rabbi from Galilee, who lived in a time no less contentious than our own, who saw the same kind of car-nage around him (or worse) that we see in our own day. He was surrounded by people who wanted a change, some calling for armed revolt, others for assassina-tion, still others for abandoning the world and withdrawing to the desert. Others were willing to compromise their integrity and beliefs in order to get ahead in a so-ciety not of their own making.

Yet in the midst of all these contending philosophies, this Galilean rabbi pro-posed a new and different one: Love what God loves. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Reach out and draw in the stranger, the grieving, the guilty, the abandoned, the lost, the lonely. Leave aside all the distinctions between “us” and “them” and see only one big “us.” Love God’s creation and care for it. Be willing to confront the principalities and powers that fail to regard people as valuable in themselves. And be willing to give all for the sake of that mission.

We can certainly make the case that our mission activities are an outgrowth of our love for neighbor: donating food to MOM, collecting farm produce at the Farmer’s Market, buying Christmas gifts through MOM’s “Sharing Christmas” pro-gram, volunteering with The Road Home, or any of the many other opportunities we have to give and serve.

But did you know that the initiative behind our current building was that same kind of love? The church wanted to be in a more public place and make us more accessible and available to the community. The same is true about events like Trunk or Treat and Fat Saturday, not to mention the proposed new worship service.

(Continued on page 10)

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h P a g e 2

Sunday Worship

9:30 am

Nursery care available

Refreshments and fellowship after worship.

Office Hours

Office hours are 8:00 am to noon, Monday through Thursday.

The office is closed on Fridays.

Worship in September

September 7

13th Sunday after Pentecost Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 “Faith Is a Verb” Jesus had some harsh words for the temple leaders who ques-tioned his authority. He paralleled a man’s two sons, one who said he’d go to work in the family vineyard but didn’t, and the other who said he wouldn’t go to work but did. Jesus meant it as a criticism of the leaders, but it’s a cautionary tale for us and a re-minder that faith is more than what you believe, it’s what you do! Holy Communion will not be served this day.

September 14 14th Sunday after Pentecost Micah 6:6-8; John 15:1-11 “What Are We Here For?” There’s at least one church in most every city, town, and village in our country. But what are they there for? Or, more to the point, what are we here for? Why do we exist? What is our mission? Pastor Jim will spend a few minutes this Sun-day reflecting on those questions. Holy Communion will be celebrated during this day’s worship service.

September 21

15th Sunday after Pentecost *Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 18:21-35 “How Often Should I Forgive?” Forgiveness is a major theme of the Christian faith, but it can sometimes be very difficult to practice. How forgiving do we need to be? Do I really have to forgive and forget? And what about people who refuse to forgive me? In both of today’s readings, we are called to forgive others even as we have been forgiven by God.

September 28

16th Sunday after Pentecost Philippians 1:21-30; Matthew 20:1-16 “What’s So Outrageous about Grace?” One of the most popular Christian hymns is “Amazing Grace,” but if you ever really considered how grace worked, you’d call it “Outrageous Grace. In the Parable of the Vineyard Workers, Jesus lays out just how outrageous grace is, but also how important.

October Newsletter

We need your help on Thursday,

September 25, at 9:00AM

to prepare the October

Communicator for mailing.

If you can volunteer your time, please use

the Pink Sheet to sign up or call the

church office.

Calendar

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h P a g e 1 0

There is al-ways room for you on the Sanctuary Arts & Decorating C o m m i t -tee. These

folks are responsible for the beautiful and striking decorations in our sanc-tuary. If you would like to add your talents to this group, please con-t a c t J a c k i e S e e (seej@firstweber.com).

Be Our Friend!

MCC has a Facebook page! If you’re a Facebook user, add our site to your list of friends. Search for “Middleton Community United Church of Christ.”

Food for Thought The following is an excerpt from the book What’s So Amazing about Grace, by Philip Yancey. As space allows, we will continue to include short articles of this sort in the Com-municator.

“During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Chris-tian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other reli-gious had different versions of gods appearing in human form.. Resurrec-tion? Again, other religions had ac-counts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. ‘What’s the rumpus about?’ he asked, and heard in reply that his col-leagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, ‘Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.’

“After some discussion, the confer-ees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seemed to go against every instinct of hu-manity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law—each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love uncondi-tional.

“Aware of our inbuilt resistance to grace, Jesus talked about it often. He described a world suffused with God’s grace: where the sun shines on people good and bad; where birds gather seeds gratis; . . . where untended wildflowers burst into blook on the rocky hillsides. Like a visitor from a foreign country who notices what the natives overlook, Jesus saw grace everywhere.”

Where do you see grace? How do you experience it for yourself?

Are we willing to throw open the doors (and arms) of hospitality and wel-come in the stranger and transform them into sisters and brothers in Christ? Are we willing to devote resources to make that happen?

That kind of love flies in the face of the violence and indifference in this world. And it also moves us out of narrow self-interest into true love and con-cern for the world.

Our church mission statement begins with the words “As a faithful church, we will provide opportunities for growth in our witness to the grace and love of God . . . .” Several phrases jump out at me in that statement. One is “as a faithful church.” Our first task is to build up disciples who love God and are equipped to love our neighbor. Another is “witness.” That’s the second task—to take what we know and have learned about the grace and love of God and share it with others.

The prophet Micah, living some 700 years before the time of Jesus, summed up for us what could be a Christian creed: “God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do jus-tice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?”

Our task as a church is to live out that creed in our individual and commu-nity life, to direct our attention and resources to making that creed a reality in our congregation and community, and to bear witness in all things to the grace and love of God. May it ever be so!

See you in church!

(Continued from page 1)

Coffee & Cookies Hosts!

Volunteer for this fellowship ministry!

Check the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour table

for available dates.

P a g e 3 M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h

Celebration Sunday— Sunday,

September 7

The end of summer is fast ap-proaching, followed quickly by the

chaos of fall. Let's take this moment of transition to celebrate all the bless-ings past and soon to come. Join us Sunday, September 7, at 9:30am for an outdoor service and old fashion church picnic in honor of Celebra-tion Sunday. The morning starts with a special outdoor service to help us cele-brate the splendors of the season and the beauty of the wildflower meadow surrounding the church. The service will be followed by a pot-luck luncheon. Tableware and beverages will be provided. Participants are asked to bring a dish to share. You are also encouraged to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets to help with seating for the service and pic-nic. After lunch everyone is encouraged to stay and enjoy yard games and socializing on the side lawn. So save the date: Sunday, September 7 - Celebration Sunday!

Join in the celebration!

Parking Lot to Be Resurfaced

Our parking lot and drive-way will be sealed and re-striped this fall. A bid has just been accepted, so the date is still pending. Be watching the Sunday wor-ship program and our web-site for more information.

Outdoor Work Day Coming

in October

On Saturday, October 4, from 9 to 1, we need your help to paint the trim on the exterior of our church b u i l d i n g . This will pro-vide a better seal against rain and s n o w . Check the box on the Pink Sheet in the Sunday worship pro-gram and plan to spend time working on this pro-ject with your church friends. More information will be available as the date approaches.

Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday, September 14, 2014

Bring your backpack, briefcase, or teacher tote to be blessed for the upcoming school year!

AND - Bring the name of a student, teacher, or school you wish to include in our blessing!

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h P a g e 4

Daily Bible Reading Guide For September

For these daily readings

sent right to your email box, go to

www.americanbible.org, click on “Bible Resources,” then “Daily Bible Reading.”

Daily devotionals are also available at www.ucc.org.

9/1 Psalm 37

9/2 Psalm 119.1-16

9/3 Psalm 119.17-32

9/4 Psalm 119.33-48

9/5 Psalm 119.49-64

9/6 Psalm 119.65-80

9/7 Psalm 119.81-96

9/8 Psalm 119.97-112

9/9 Psalm 119.113-128

9/10 Psalm 119.129-144

9/11 Psalm 119.145-160

9/12 Psalm 119.161-176

9/13 1 Corinthians 1.1-17

9/14 1 Corinthians 1.18-31

9/15 1 Corinthians 2.1-16

9/16 1 Corinthians 3.1-23

9/17 1 Corinthians 4.1-21

9/18 Matthew 5.1-20

9/19 Matthew 5.21-48

9/20 Matthew 6.19-34

9/21 Matthew 7.1-14

9/22 Matthew 7.15-29

9/23 Matthew 13.1-17

9/24 Matthew 13.18-32

9/25 Matthew 13.33-52

9/26 Proverbs 1.1-33

9/27 Proverbs 8.1-36

9/28 Proverbs 11.1-31

9/29 Proverbs 12.1-28

9/30 Proverbs 16.1-3 Confirmation Begins September 14

Confirmation, a two-year process for high school freshmen and sopho-mores, begins on Sunday, September 14, with an informational session for students and their parents beginning at 8:30 am. This year’s focus will be on the Bible? What are the stories in the Bible? How do that connect with us today?

The class will engage in several mis-

sion projects and is looking into a possible overnight urban immersion trip to Milwaukee.

Letters went out in August to peo-ple we knew were planning to partic-ipate. If we missed you, or if there is someone else who you know who would like to participate, please con-tact the church office at 831-4694 or mccucc@middletonucc.org.

We are so excited to kick off anoth-er fantastic year of Sunday School! Our mission project for this year re-turns to Heifer International (www.heifer.org), so look for animal-themed lessons and activities throughout the year! Please note our schedule for September: Preschool Sept 7—No VCSS Sept 14—Love One Another

Sept 21—God Made Everything Sept 28—The Floating Zoo Kind-5th grade Sept 7—No VCSS Sept 14—Getting to Know You Sept 21—Holy Moly!—NOAH

Sept 28—VCSS Workshop—Heifer Project

Children’s Music for ALL K-5 stu-dents meets following Very Cool Sun-day School from 10:30-11:00am. Children’s Music uses a wide variety of songs, instruments, puppets, rhythm, and drama to support and expand student learning of key faith concepts and practices. Upcoming dates…

October 5—all Kindergarten and 4th graders receive bibles

October 11—MCC will host a “Blessing of the Animals” service at 10:00am. Invite your friends and neighbors!

Very Cool Sunday School Begins September 14!

Middle School Sunday School(grades 6-8) is designed around sev-eral “anchor activities” to help stu-dents connect their faith with con-crete actions.

Some of this year’s activities in-clude helping with the fall Outside Workday (Oct 4), “adopting a room” for the Road Home hosting week (Nov 30), MLK Service blitz (January 2015), Feed My Starving Children (March 2015), and MORE!

In September, the focus is on Rela-tionships…

Sept 14—Communion Sunday, no class, BUT students are encour-aged to bring their backpacks to church and write down their re-flections on the start of a new school year—yes, an assignment!

Sept 21 & 28—These two Sun-days, students and teachers will explore our relationships with one another and the church.

October 4—MCC Outdoor Work-day. Students and parents are encouraged to help with painting and other outdoor projects.

Middle School Sunday School

P a g e 9 M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h

Middleton Outreach Ministry’s

Food Pantry

Top 10 List

1. Canned Fruit 2. Soup (Healthy Varie-

ties) 3. Pasta 4. Spaghetti Sauce 5. Macaroni and Cheese 6. Cooking Oil 7. Flour 8. Sugar 9. Diapers Sizes 4, 5

and 6 10. Fruit Juice Visit www.momhelps.org

for more information.

MCC Care Ministry Visiting Team. . . regularly visiting members and friends

who are shut-in or in nursing homes. Card Team. . . regularly sending cards to members,

friends, and immediate family who are shut-in our on our church prayer list.

Meals Team. . . providing meals to church families in times of transition or following hospitalization.

Rides Team. . . looking to build a team that will provide rides to doctor ap-pointments or church events.

If you would like to be a part of our Care Ministry, please check the box on the Pink Sheet and place it in the basket at the rear of the sanctuary. If you would like to receive services or make a referral, please contact Jim Neuman

Moving Van Needed!

We are looking to bor-row or rent a moving van (interior box size about 7'x15' or larger) for use about four Sundays per year at a reduced rate (or free) to transport the Road Home cots and guests' belongings to the next host congrega-tion. Please contact Ross Michaels at 220-7829 or rbm@chorus.net if you know of a van we might be able to use.

THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to MCC’s school supplies drive for Middleton Out-reach Ministry. MOM annually dis-tributes over 700 backpacks to area students. Your generosity helps en-sure all students start the new school year with what they need to be

successful. This means so much to families with young children who rely on MOM’s food pantry! Backpacks will be assembled and distribut-ed in the near future. Thanks for your par-ticipation in this ministry. You are changing lives!

MOM School Supplies Drive—THANK YOU!

Blessing of the Animals Saturday, October 11

@10:00am

Animals of all kinds—or a PICTURE of

your animals—are welcome to this out-door service celebrating the furry, feath-ered, finned, and other members of our

families. Invite your friends and neighbors!

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h P a g e 8

Happy Anniversary!

Ralph & Marie

Jackson

Delores & Ken Haak

Chad & Beth

Moritz

Tom & Christine Odell

Cheri Farha & Keith Johnson

John & Michelle

Hamilton

Christopher & Ellen Acker

Greg & Jessica

Barrett

Nick & Barbara Breitbach

Did we miss yours? Call the church office and

Twice each year, we provide Sun-day evening meals for students at The Crossing Campus Ministry. The Crossing is a place for UW students to gather on campus for worship and fellowship, and service. We will be providing the meal on Sunday, October 12.

As host, MCC volunteers deliver and share a meal with approx. 50 students (set up at 4:30 p.m., wor-ship service from 5-6 p.m. with din-ner following). MCC provides an easy meal, complete with home-made desserts. It is an easy and fun way to share our gifts of fellowship and home-cooking to a very gra-cious group of young adults. Con-

tainers for leftovers are appreciated! Do you have a yummy dessert

you’d like to share? Does sharing Christian hospitality with our young-er generation warm your heart? Are you missing your college age son/daughter now that they’re off to school? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions the Dinner at the Crossing mission could just be your niche.

A sign-up sheet will appear soon on the Mission and Stewardship ta-ble. Check the box on the Pink Sheet, too!

For more information, please con-tact Stephanie Iliff at 215-6312 or sjiliff@gmail.com

Dinner at The Crossing—October 12

Just Bakery will return to MCC on Sunday, October 12, bringing oodles of pastries, bread, and cookies to sample and to pur-chase.

Just Bakery is a job-training program founded by Madison-area Urban Ministry and is designed to give par-ticipants experience and skills that will help them obtain employment in

the food service industry. Partici-pants in the program include men and women who may have a history of mental ill-ness or incarceration. To learn more about Just Bakery, pick up a brochure from the Mission & Steward-ship Table in Fellowship Hall

or visit www.emum.org/justbakery.html.

Just Bakery Will Return October 12 Camp Balsams

There are still some days

available at Camp Balsams in September. It’s a wonder-ful place for an affordable family vacation while shar-ing fellowship with other members of the church. Contact the church office for rates and reservations.

BIBLE SUNDAY—October 5

All Kindergarten and 4th

grade students receive their very own age-

appropriate Bible!

Share the love of scripture and promote the practice of reading the bible to-

gether!

Bibles will be distributed in worship dur-ing Children’s Time

P a g e 5 M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h

U p d a t e d church ad-dress and phone di-r ec t or i e s

for 2014 are now available! Pick up yours on Sunday or contact the church office to have one sent to you.

Please use these email addresses to correspond with church staff.

Office: mccucc

@middletonucc.org

Jim Iliff: mccpastor

@middletonucc.org

Laura Crow: mccfaithformation

@middletonucc.org

Mindy Bergman: mccchoir

@middletonucc.org

Janet Coughlin: mcckidsmusic

@middletonucc.org

Barbara Brown: mccpianist

@middletonucc.org

MCC Staff Email Addresses

The Tuesday Morning Study Group invites you to come and get acquainted. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 9th at 9:30am. We will gather in the Heritage Room to begin discussing the book “The Girl Who Came Home,” by author

Hazel Gaynor, a novel of the Titanic. Join the group and enjoy quality conversation and coffee. Everyone is welcome.

Contact Rose Ann Sprang 831-6486 or Carrie Doersch 238-2386 with any questions.

Tuesday Morning Study Group

Tuesday Night Fellowship Returns September 9th!

Tuesday Night Fellowship (TNF) will return on Tuesday, September 9, as one of MCC’s faith formation op-portunities for adults.

The group will read and dis-cuss “How the Irish Saved Civili-zation,” by Thomas Cahill, a beautifully-written book that describes the great changes that occurred in Europe as the Roman Empire fell and a new world dominated by so-called barbarians began. It tells the story of how Patrick fell in love with Ireland as a slave, then returned as a missionary to bring the Christian faith to the Emerald Isle. Although later generations conformed to the dominant Latin structures and theolo-

gy, Patrick and his successors created a church that was more responsive to people and more in touch with the

created world around them. This “Irish” understanding is being rediscovered and reap-plied to church life in the pre-sent day. All are welcome to be a part of TNF. Each evening’s session will begin with a soup supper at 6 pm, followed by discussion at 6:30. Study guides and copies of the

book are available on the Faith For-mation table in Fellowship Hall. Books are $12 each.

Be a part of TNF and this fall book study. You’ll be glad you did!

Men’s Group begins its fall season with a discussion of several articles related to the events in Ferguson, MO—the shooting by police of an unarmed black youth and the result-ing demonstrations and violence. What should our response be to these events? What would consti-tute justice? We will read and reflect upon several news article and com-mentaries as we try to make sense of

these events and seek a way for the future.

Copies of the articles will be availa-ble in Fellowship Hall. They will also be emailed.

Men’s Group meetings on the sec-ond Saturday of the month, begin-ning at 8 am. Light refreshments will be served.

All are welcome!

Men’s Group Meets September 13

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h P a g e 6

Dates to Remember:

September 1—Labor Day—OFFICE CLOSED

September 8— Food Sunday & Celebration Sunday

September 9— Tuesday Study Group & TNF Begin

September 13—Men’s Group

September 14—VCSS & Middle School Sun-day School begins

September 17—Coffee & Conversation

September 25—Assemble Newsletter

October 5—Food Sun-day

October 26—Trunk or Treat

Coffee & Cookies Hosts!

Volunteer for this fellowship ministry!

Check the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour table

for available dates.

Interested in joining Middleton Community Church? Want to know more about it? Then come to the inquirer’s classes starting September 28. Here is the schedule:

September 28, 10:45 am “Getting to Know You”

We introduce ourselves to one another and get intro-duced to MCC.

October 5, 10:45 am “What Does MCC Have for Me?”

Ministry leaders will talk about the ministries of MCC and how you can get involved.

October 12, 5:30 pm

We will gather for a potluck supper at the church with sponsors and

members of our church leadership.

New members will be re-ceived into the church during an October or No-

vember worship service. Contact Pastor Jim at 831-4694 or mccpas-tor@middletonucc.org for more in-formation.

Inquirers’ Classes Begin September 28

It's that time of year again. Time to do a thorough cleaning of the church. Your help in this project would be greatly appreciated. It's easy to do and only takes about an hour of your time. So please sign up for a cleaning job in Fellowship Hall. Choose a job. Sign your name on the big easel sheet. Grab the appropriate instruction form from the stack clipped to the board. Choose a time to do your job and show up and do it. All necessary sup-plies are listed on the instruction sheets and many items can be found

in the church kitchen or supply clos-et if you do not have them yourself. Most jobs take no more than soapy water and rags or paper towels. Once you have completed your task make the big board with the completion date and you're done! Thank you in advance for pitching in on this very important service to our church. If you have questions contact Tricia Reed from membership and fellowship commit-tee at tritty1@gmail.comor 608-577-8096.

Pitch In - Sign-up for Church Cleanup

WE HAVE PICTURES!! Thanks to your generosity, a number of fami-lies in the Philippines have new homes, homes under construction, and homes in the planning stages. Your dollars are also helping count-less others by boosting the local economy providing jobs & income.

Great progress is being made in spite of it being the rainy season. The mountain families bring their caribou to haul materials in any weather. Please check out the notes and pictures on the Mission & Stewardship Board in Fellowship Hall.

Nipa Hut Update

Happy Birthday!

Jeannie Bettesworth Tate Classen

John Comerford Will Comerford

Melissa Corrigan Janet Coughlin Charles Crow Ron Doersch

Pam Dye Amy Elliot Edith First

Dale Gillings Sherry Gustafson

Sue Hunt-Christensen Sarah Iliff Steven Iliff Tim Jaberg

Carole Klopp Delores Landgraf Coralie Lemcke

Gayle Love Cayley Metzloff

Elizabeth Metzloff Tricia Reed

Carol Roach Fred Robertson

Hannah Schwenn Jacci See

Michele Statz Laurie Stolen

Isaac Sund Julie Tamulevich

Stanley Tamulevich Audrey Tommerson

Steve Weber Alex Wilson

Did we miss yours?

Call the church office and let us know.

M i d d l e t o n C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h P a g e 7

Last fall a small group gathered to create prayer shawls to “gift” to church members and friends, so they can receive a “hug from God”. To date 11 shawls have been made and four have been “gifted”. This ministry is continuing, but will not meet on a formal basis.

Anyone who is interested in par-ticipating, please indicate on the pink sheet Sunday bulletin insert or contact the church office. The plan is to create shawls as needed, but it will be important to know of those interested in helping.

When the “stash” gets low a mes-

sage will be sent to those who have offered to make new shawls. Prayer shawls are available to Pastor Jim, the Care Team or individuals to gift. The prayer shawls are located on a table in the Fellowship area.

Please find the notebook labeled “Prayer Shawl Ministry” which gives instructions for checking out a shawl. Each shawl has a gift tag acknowl-edging that it is from Middleton Community Church, the person who made the shawl, and care.

Any questions, please contact Joan R ich ner a t 831 -6710 or bjrichner@gmail.com

Prayer Shawl Ministry

The adult choir will be start-ing up again after its summer break. The choir will sing for the first time on Celebration Sunday, September 7. There will be two rehearsals prior to

that Sunday: Wednesday, August 27 and Wednesday, September 3, both at 6:30 pm.

Please mark your calendar so you can warm up your vocal cords and prepare to sing!

New singers are always welcome. If you know any-

one who might be interested, please contact Mindy Bergman at 833-3669.

Choir Begins Fall Season!

On Saturday, September 20, MCC members will be gathering at the Farmer’s Market on the Capitol Square to collect surplus food for ar-ea food pantries! We’ll meet for col-lection at 11:45 am at the East Wash-ington entrance to the State Capitol to pick up the carts and the very styl-ish vests!

This is a great activity for the whole family, and takes about an

hour. Watch for a sign-up sheet on the Mission and Stewardship table or call the church office at 831-4694 to sign up!

Thank you for sup-porting this amazing ministry connecting fresh produce and families in need!

Farmer’s Market Food Gleaning—September 20