St. Stephen's Food Pantry - Item of the Month for August - Toothbrushes & Toothpaste

If  you like to support the food pantry, they are trying something a little different.

They will have a monthly focus item that they are requesting along with the other items that you give so generously to support the pantry.

If you would like to see what they will be collecting in the months ahead, there are lists on the Kiosk, above the St. Stephen's Food Pantry Collection Bin in the Collection Area, and it will be in the Column Newsletter beginning in August.

Annual Backpack Collection - Important Update

The amazing Messiah Community has come together to provide the supplies to outfit 265 backpacks for 6 elementary schools, The Road Home and DAIS.

If you have pledged to bring items, please have them at church by July 31st. When we say we have what we need, we are counting on the pledged items.

If anyone would like to make a cash donation, we need $120 to cover a bulk order of folders and notebooks. If additional donations come in, we will of course make more backpacks!

Thank you again and again!

$10,000 for Give Families a LIft from the Dane County Deputy Sheriff's Association

The DCDSA just awarded the Kennedy Family Support Network a $10,000 grant to be used toward the van! This should at least get them into year 3 and maybe year 4 of gas, insurance and maintenance.

The mission of the Cops for Kids program is to enrich the lives of underprivileged children residing within Dane County. Special thanks to Scott Herrem who let us know about this opportunity.

This week, Measiah’s youth of all ages came together for an incredible mission experience filled with exploration, service, and community.

In the mornings, our littles and bigs teamed up to assemble care bags and pack 200 lunches for the men’s homeless shelter—working side by side with so much heart.

In the afternoons, and during a full day of service on Wednesday, our older youth spread out across the community. They volunteered with United Way, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, worked at St. Mark’s Food Pantry, spent time at Gigi’s Playhouse, and painted and cleaned at REACH Dane/Headstart.

What a beautiful week of compassion, teamwork, and service. We’re so proud of these young people and the impact they made together.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this week possible from the volunteers, cooks, drivers, and leaders.

1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted a Culture"

Thank you to the 35 people who came together on July 14th for the movie "1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted a Culture," a documentary about how the word "homosexual" was mistakenly inserted into the Bible and how it has been addressed since. 

A question came up around the use of “they” as a singular pronoun. While more attention has been drawn to it in recent years, there is actually a rather long history of its being used this way. Here are 2 of many articles out there that explore it a bit, and other pronouns which have morphed over time. Ultimately language serves people and changes as society does.

• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/parts-of-speech/use-the-singular-they/
• https://www.oed.com/discover/a-brief-history-of-singular-they/

Ladies Lunch Bunch - August 12th

Breakwater

6308 Inland Way, Monona, WI

by Buck and Honey’s

Please sign up on the Kiosk. There will be space for 25 women this month.

Please be there by 11:15 am - 1:15 pm.    Orders will be taken at 11:30.

 For questions call Claire at 920-319-6731 or Mary at 262-716-4600

The Ladies Lunch Bunch July Gathering collected $106.00 for our Annual Backpack Collection.

Venezuela Earthquake Donation Information

Message from Lutheran World Relief regarding the earthquakes in Venezuela.

Thank you for being our faithful partner and standing with neighbors in their time of greatest need.

By now you’ve seen the devastating news from Venezuela. It is tragic and heartbreaking. Lives have been lost. Homes and workplaces have been destroyed. Food, water and other essentials are becoming difficult to access.

Right now, our teams are already preparing a response. But this response depends on congregations like yours. Your support will help provide emergency aid, including water, medical care, shelter and essential supplies to families affected by the earthquakes.

Click Here to give through Lutheran World Relief

Click Here to give through World Central Kitchen

Pull Tab Collection for Ronald McDonald House

Our latest donation to the Ronald McDonald House was 35 pounds of pull tabs.

That totaled $19.60

Save the Dates for Pride Celebrations

Madison Outreach Magic Pride Festival – August 16th 1:00-6:00 PM

Messiah’s RIC Team is inviting you to join us at the Madison Outreach Magic Pride Festival. This is a family friendly event to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ siblings and to be a presence of love in the community. Keep an eye out for a sign-up at the end of June to volunteer at our table.

Guest Speaker: Mikah Meyers – August 15th & 16th. 

Messiah’s RIC team is excited to welcome National Parks Expert Mikah Meyer, a classically trained singer and award-winning filmmaker. Raised as a Lutheran preacher’s kid in Nebraska, Mikah is passionate about exploring the outdoors and helping people of divergent backgrounds find joy and common ground through their shared love of nature. This advocacy is seen through his short film Canyon Chorus. Mikah is the creator of the Outside Safe Space symbol which is sold at park gift shops and recreation stores including REI, and is currently being worn by over 100,000 people in the United States as a non-verbal signifier of LGBTQ+ allies in outdoor, rural, and active space.

WELCA Gathering -  July 16 - 19 - Des Moines, IA



"A Day at Holden Experience" - July 25 - 12:00 - 8:00pm

Join Lake Edge Lutheran Church in Madison and Holden Village for a "Day at Holden Experience" featuring new liturgy and guest teaching faculty, Rev. Dr. Niveen Ibrahim Sarras.

Reverend Doctor Niveen Ibrahim Sarras

"The Rev. Dr. Niveen Ibrahim Sarras is the first Palestinian woman ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Her passion for Scripture began at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation and its school in Bethlehem. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago."

The Schedule:

1:00 PM - Welcome

1:30 PM - Worship 

Bless This Night

2:00 PM - Education Session by Rev. Dr. Niveen Ibrahim Sarras

Love in Bloom: Ecology and Desire in the Song of Songs

3:30 PM - Community Sessions

Song Circle or Nature Walk 

4:30 PM - Education Session by Rev. Dr. Niveen Ibrahim Sarras

Love in Bloom: Ecology and Desire in the Song of Songs Part 2

5:30 PM - Holden Update

6:00 PM - Dinner (Free will offering)

7:00 PM - Worship

Holdren Evening Prayer

St. Stephen's Food Pantry / Culver's Fundraiser Night

on Monday, July 27th from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

The Culver's in McFarland is generously sponsoring this event and donating 10% of all fundraiser sales. Bring your family and friends for a whole meal or just a scoop of ice cream! Please remember to mention that you are ordering as part of the fundraiser when you place your order.

We will have food pantry volunteers on-site helping to deliver orders and keep the area clean, so please come by and say hello.

We hope to see you there!

Young Adult Evening Mixer at Messiah

July 29 - 7:00 pm

Friends Welcome!!!!!

Scan QR code on image or on Kiosk to let Pr. Dan know that you are coming

Light snacks, S’Mores - Connection, Community

Messiah Cook book Update - Submit by July 31st

Sharing food is a timeless tradition of friendship, support and community. We have a great committee working hard to collect, organize, and create this special keepsake of favorite recipes from Messiah members and friends.

Please send your recipes to Shirley Klinkner, Committee Chair: Shirley.messiahcookbook@yahoo.com

Include the recipe name, your name and the recipe category:

         Appetizers & Beverages         Soups & Salads         Vegetables & Side Dishes

         Main Dishes                            Breads & Rolls           Desserts

         Cookies & Candies                 This & That

"Recipes for Two" are welcome and will be included in the appropriate category.

You may also include a brief note with the recipe, 12-14 words.

Example: These cookies are a favorite of my children and vanish within two days. Please do not include brand names in the recipe name. Example: Hershey's Best Chocolate Chip Cookie. All recipes are due by July 31^st.

How to submit a recipe:

· Email to Shirley: Shirley.messiahcookbook@yahoo.com 

· Recipe sheets ate available on the rolling cart at church for you to handwrite your recipe (place completed form in the church office)

· Take a photo of your recipe and email it to Shirley

Cookbooks will be available for purchase beginning November 7^th at the annual Craft & Bake Sale. Thank you for helping make this community collection a joy to give and to receive! 

Bread Breakers – An Adult Fellowship Opportunity for folks over 18 years of age

Return enrollment forms to the office by Labor Day

Barb and Walt Herrod are the organizers of the Bread Breakers Adult Fellowship Group. Here is how it works!

Assigned groups may contain 5 -8 people. You’ll each host the other group members in your home for a meal at least once roughly between fall through early summer. The host provides the main dish and beverages and asks others to provide items to round out the meal. The style of the meal is absolutely your choice when you host – brunch or dinner, cook-out/fancy/casual, on a weekend or weekday. 

New for 2026-27:  If enough people are interested, we’ll create “Snowbird Bread Breakers” groups for those who spend a significant portion of the winter away from Wisconsin. We’ll assign your special group in September, and you can decide together when you’ll start meeting. We’d suggest getting together at least once before the holidays, and resuming when you all return in the spring. The option to be in “Snowbird Bread Breakers” is on the enrollment form.

Enrollment forms are on the Kiosk now. Fill out and return to the specially marked box in the church office by Labor Day.  Include your name and the name of any person who will or may regularly accompany you. We’ll email your group assignment in mid-September.  If you want the enrollment form sent electronically, email us and we’ll send it to you.

Call Barb & Walt Herrod 608-318-2129 (landline), or email bwhfam@gmail.com with any questions.

Staffed Summer Nursery Hours: from Memorial Day weekend, which is May 24th, through Labor Day weekend, which is September 6th, the nursery will only be open at the late service.

Nursery attendance is very sporadic in the summer, but we want to make the option available as much as we can. Our nursery attendants staff the late service when they are available. If they are not available, you are always welcome to be in the nursery with your children and watch the stream on the TV. Also consider using the activity bags located near the coat rack in the gathering space.

Community Outreach Team Meeting - Thursday, September 24th at 10:00am

Community Outreach Team Collections

Please check out the Ongoing Community Outreach Collection webpage to see what Messiah collects to help local organiztions support their clients.

Paper copies of the Collections are available in the Collection Area at Messiah

(between the Gathering Space and the Community Room).

Our next weeks for preparing meals for Healing House are:

July 19 - 25

Please sign up on the kiosk if you can make a meal.

Messiah has chosen to affiliate with, Focused Interruption. They joined us in hosting the Guns to Gardens event at St Paul AME this past spring. Read more about their founder Anthony Cooper and the last ten years of their impactful and growing work right here in Madison.

Here is the link to a great read about this local organization.

The Racial Justice Team hosted an Adult Education session on Sunday February 8 on how to contact state and federal representatives. This was a direct follow-up to the book study When Thoughts and Prayers Aren’t Enough and an opportunity to speak up about gun violence, but these strategies can be used to express your opinion about any issues that are important to you. 

Here is a link to the google slideshow we used. There are many ways to get messages to our representatives and make our voices heard, and one is bound to fit your preferred method of communication because you can call, fax, email, or write a letter or a postcard. One of the easiest methods to use is the 5Calls app/website at 5calls.org. You set your location, select an issue from the sidebar and then the names and contact information of your elected officials pops up along with a suggested script which you can use verbatim or as a starting point. You can work your way through all of them or skip and select who you want to contact. 

Calling your representative is the best way to make your voice heard before they take a public stance because congressional staffers tally phone calls right away.

Other kinds of messages take longer.

• Emails have to be manually read and sorted.
• Faxes have to be digitized and emailed.
• Letters and postcards take time to arrive and get processed.