Saturday, March 28

Palm Sunday Worship Service       5:00 pm

NURSERY will NOT be available on:

April 5 - Easter Sunday

Guns to Gardens - Gun Disposal and Forging Event

This all came about last year, during Lent, Messiah and St. Paul AME came together for two mid-week Lent services, where Anthony Cooper, the director of Focused Interruption, and Jeff Wild, retired ELCA pastor and local director of Guns to Gardens organization, spoke during the services about their work and their organizations. What came of those nights was a relationship between the four organizations and a dream to host a safe, effective, and impactful Guns to Gardens event together.

Thirteen guns were destroyed. One came with a heavy story of loss by suicide, others were inherited from family members, others just unused. Some had found out about the event weeks in advance, while others saw our road sign and were beyond grateful that we were providing a safe, healing place to get rid of their guns.

This could not have happened without the thirty amazing volunteers, especially our planning team, led by Tracy Frank and Elizabeth Crummy from Messiah, Kay Corbin from St. Paul AME, and Sharla Miller from Focused Interruption.

For all those who were a part of this day, whether it was as a volunteer, as a financial contributor for the gift cards, or showing up with guns of your own to destroy, we thank you and are deeply grateful that you are part of this movement to eradicate gun violence, and to transform metal that once had the potential to harm, into tools that support life, provide healing, and bring hope.

Messiah collected $3,010.00 for gift cards for this event.

One Person’s Story of Their Choice to Destroy Their Gun



Gun-violence-in-Wisconsin-2023-Factsheet.pdf

Messiah Day of Prayer - Thursday, May 7th - 6:00 am - 10:00 pm

Messiah will join in celebrating the National Day of Prayer by holding a prayer vigil on

Beginning April 1^st, there will be a sign-up sheet on the Kiosk in the Gathering Space.

Please come and spend some time in quiet reflection in our beautiful Sanctuary.

Please contact Clyde Nyhus at (608) 516-4926, or email music@messiahchurch.com with any questions. 

Messiah Cook Book Returns

Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." John 21:17

Food is often the heart of hospitality. As we share meals, we bond in fellowship and community. Messiah would like to revive our tradition of offering a cookbook, "Feed My Sheep." Favorite recipes shared among members and friends as we gather at tables together and apart. We are fed and blessed in so many ways at Messiah.

The team for this project is forming. We will begin meeting in June with the goal of completing the cookbook by the Craft Fair, Nov. 7 and having it available for holiday gifting. Your help is needed! There will be many specific tasks to smoothly organize and complete the project. Contact Shirley Klinkner, sjklink1@gmail.com or Pastor Dan, pastordanmessiah@gmail.com to find out more and to volunteer.

Life Is Saying Goodbye, Life Is Saying Hello
A Six-Week Grief Support Gathering at Messiah

April 9, 16, 30  - May 14, 21, 28

4:30pm - 5:30 pm

Loss touches every life. Sometimes it comes through the death of someone we love; other times through changes in health, relationships, work, or life’s many transitions. Because grief is not something we are meant to carry alone.

Our hope is simple: to create a gentle and supportive space where we can learn to grieve well.

A short story captures the spirit of the group. A woman once brought her favorite broken cup to a potter and asked if he could make it the way it was before. The potter replied, “I cannot make it the way it was, but I can help you hold the pieces, mend what can be mended, and shape something new from what remains.” As they worked together, the woman realized she had not come only to fix the cup—she had come so she would not have to hold the broken pieces alone.

Grief often feels like holding the broken pieces of a life we loved. In this group we will not try to “fix” grief or rush past it, but gently hold the pieces together, honor what has been lost, and listen for the ways life may slowly begin to say hello again.

Over six weeks we will reflect using Life Is Saying Goodbye, Life Is Saying Hello by Alla Renée Bozarth.

If you—or someone you know—are walking through loss, you are warmly invited to join us for this time of shared reflection, compassion, and care.

This group is limited to 15 people, sign up on the Kiosk in the Gathering Space.

Mark Petersen, Facilitator

Calling all men of Messiah! 

You are invited to come and gather for fellowship where we meet for breakfast, worship and prayer to strengthen our faith and build brotherhood.

NO sign up needed.

When:  Every Monday at 9:00 am
Location:  Denny’s on E. Broadway in Monona, next to Menards.

Contact Person: Ray Robinson  rayerobinson13@gmail.com or 608-695-5591

Wednesday Morning Bible Study

The Gospel of Mark

Beginning March 18th

7:00 am - 8:00 am

by Richard Carlson (Author) …

The Gospel of Mark is not just good news about Jesus. It reveals, sometimes in surprising and scandalous ways, how Jesus is God's good news to us. This 8-session study takes big questions based on Mark and challenges participants to explore them thoughtfully together. 

Ladies Lunch Bunch - April 8th - Red Robin

  6522 Monona Dr, Monona, WI 53716

Please sign up on the Kiosk.

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

 For questions call Claire at 920-319-6731 or Mary at 608-716-4600

The Ladies Lunch Bunch March Gathering collected $175.00 for gift cards for Guns to Gardens.

Women’s Thursday Morning Book Study - April 9 - May 21

Beginning April 9, the Women’s Thursday Morning Book Study will begin a 7-week discussion of Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton.

This thoughtful and accessible book explores spiritual practices that help us encounter God in everyday life, including silence and solitude, prayer, Sabbath, discernment, and spiritual direction. Each chapter encourages meaningful conversation and invites participants to experiment with spiritual practices throughout the week.

All women are warmly invited to join us Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. in the downstairs classroom at church.

Please sign up on the Kiosk in the Gathering Space.

Palm Sunday Path  -  Madison

A Public Liturgy of Witness, Hope & Peace

Sunday, March 29 - 2:30 - 4:00 pm

King St. Corner of Capitol Square

The South Central Synod of Wisconsin (which Messiah is a congregation of) will be holding their Synod Assembly on May 15 - 16 in Janesville.

Jeff and Paula Stadtmueller and Gary Dalgaard will be representing Messiah as our voting members at assembly.

Please pray for Jeff, Paula, Gary, Pr. Jeff and Pr. Dan as they prepare for synod assembly.

This year is a very important year because we are voting for our Bishop. Bishop Joy's first term is ended, she is eilgible for re-election.

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).

Easter Basket and Bags

Thank you to everyone who was able to contribute items for the Easter Basket and Bag Collection organized by the YOW, Sunday School and the Community Outreach Team. We provided a total of 277 baskets to St. Stephen’s Food Pantry, DAIS, The Road Home, Extended Hands Food Pantry and the Family Shelter. The baskets had candy, fruit snacks,  lollipops, gum, coloring books and crayons, sidewalk chalk and bubbles in a reusable bucket or basket with a decorative Easter towel.

We provided candy, notebooks, pens and activity books, cards and personal care items as well as a decorative Easter towel to Triangle Community Ministry. We created bags with candy, a decorative Easter towel and a card for the Visitation Team to deliver. 

The YOW children packed the bags with help from the Community Outreach Team. and the Sunday School children decorated the Easter cards and the bags. The Messiah delivery team of Karen Verhagen, Dave Lindorff, Paula Darr and Nancy Battist got them to their designated places on time. SAM pitched in with a special collection of jelly beans and chocolate eggs.

Thank you for providing these treats to those in our community who might not have access to this little bit of Easter fun!

Monetary Lenten Collection - Foil Pans for Goodman Thanksgiving Baskets

In March we continue our Lenten journey – a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (the three pillars of Lent). 

In following these teachings, we moved the monetary collection for Thanksgiving baskets to the season of Lent. The Goodman Center has sponsored Thanksgiving Baskets for many years, last year giving away over 4,000 meals which fed approximately 25,000 Dane County residents!  A complete meal, including a turkey and all the trimmings, is provided to those in need who have registered. 

Messiah has collected $3,390.00 for this collection and our goal is $6,500.00.

Your donations to help feed our community at Thanksgiving are greatly appreciated!

For more information about this collection, please visit the Community Outreach Team Webpage.

Great Midweek Soup Supper Night and Holmen Evening Prayer:

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 we held a midweek soup supper with 65-people served. 

Eight (8) people brought 6-quarts of soup each. Perfect!  Everyone enjoyed their choice of soup and we sent home 33 takeout containers!

If you are able to provide soup and/or setup-serve-cleanup the meals, sign up on the Kiosk or contact Elizabeth at volunteer@messiahchurch.com.

Divine Yoga Lenten Series - Tuesdays, March 24 and 31 - 6:00 - 7:15 pm

Grab your yoga mat or towel and join us from 6:00 - 7:15 pm on Tuesdays during lent from February 24 through March 31 in the Community Room (upper level opposite end of the building from the sanctuary.)

Divine Yoga sessions are open to all of Messiah and their friends.

A free will offering will be collected for the Goodman Foil Pan Collection.

Lenten Devotional

Writers from the Messiah community have teamed up to bring us a Lenten Devotional, 46 days of thoughts, challenges and reflections for this sacred season. Click below to access an online version, pick up a copy/copies from the gathering space, and/or visit our Facebook page for a new posting each day beginning on Ash Wednesday February18

Read Here

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.

Jennifer Ginsburg, Director of Safe Harbor spoke between the services on February 1 about human trafficking awareness at Safe Harbor. They have seen deep impacts because of the work they do in helping victims and their families, along with continued counseling support. We had a great conversation. Learning is always educational and opens up our eyes and hearts.

Victims and their families are referred to Safe Harbor from law enforcement and the courts and each year they help 400 families from over a dozen counties.  As they work with children and teenagers who have been victims of abuse and crimes, they go through lots of snacks and art supplies. We asked Jennifer to compile a list of these needs-stay tuned for an opportunity to help fill those needs.

Thank you to Messiah member Steve Lyons for sharing information about recent legislation related to human trafficking.

On February 4th there was a PUBLIC - SENATE HEARING at the State Capitol from the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety on bills related to Human Trafficking. The bills listed below are bipartisan–it is so great to have our politicians agreeing to these. Nancy Battist went to these hearings and found it quite an educational experience. 

See the Human Trafficking Awareness Webpage for more details.

Internet Crimes Against Children Update

Online threats toward children have skyrocketed over the last couple of years. Wisconsin's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) is a leading force in the country, tracking down criminals that prey on our children.  ​

Three bills were heard last week to improve the ICAC task force's ability to protect children. The bills include a public awareness campaign, increased funding, and additional staff positions.

Visit the Human Trafficking Awareness webpage to learn about the three bills.

Our next weeks for preparing meals for Healing House are:

Thank you to those who provided the meals for March 1-7.

April 26 - May 2

June 7 - 13

Check the Kiosk for Sign Ups.

Our next dates for preparing/serving meals for Triangle Community Ministry are:

April 6, 2026 - we will deliver the Easter bags that day

 July 6, 2026 

October 5, 2026

Check the Kiosk for Sign Ups.

For more specific information about preparing meals, check out the Community Outreach Team Webpage under Community Meals.