Guns to Gardens Event

March 21 at St. Paul AME Church from 9 am to 12:00 noon

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.” Isaiah 2:4.

We are hoping the Messiah community will join us for the Guns to Gardens Forging Event from 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm on Saturday March 21st at St. Paul AME church at 4525 Diamond Drive, less than a mile from Messiah.

Jeff Wild will demonstrate how he takes gun parts and pieces of what were previously firearms and turns them into garden tools. All are welcome to this one hour demonstration. 

Please note: The safe disposal event at St. Paul AME on Saturday March 21st goes from 9:00 am - 12 noon and is only for our trained volunteers and those anonymously disposing of guns.

Messiah collected $1,770.00 for gift cards for this event.

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

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!

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

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

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.

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. 

Foil roasting pans (to cook the meal in) historically were low on the donation count, so Messiah stepped in several years ago to help provide them. Our goal for 2024 and 2025 was to provide ALL 4,000 pans and Messiah met that goal and more! Please consider donating to this cause during Lent so we can reach our 2026 goal of 4,000 pans and be ready to purchase them at the best price we can find.

We are at $1,775 so far, last year it cost $6,150.

If using a check, please put “Thanksgiving basket” in the memo line so it is put in the correct account. Online, please use the Thanksgiving basket button. This collection will end at Easter. 

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.

Mid-Week Soup Supper and Holden Evening Prayer - March 25

We had 65 people join us for soup on March 11th, followed by Holden Evening Prayer.

Join us March 25th at 6 pm for our last Lenten Soup Supper followed by Holden Evening Prayer.

Soup Supper at 6:00 pm - in the Social Hall

Evening Prayer at 7:00 pm. - in the Sanctuary

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 10 - 31 - 6:00 - 7:15 pm

The sessions are free with an optional offering to benefit the Guns to Gardens Safe Gun Disposal Event happening at St. Paul AME on March 21.

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.

Many of Messiah's members are not what we call "cradle Lutherans," that is people who have been baptized in and have grown up in the Lutheran Church. So many are surprised that we elect our bishops.

On May 15th - 16th, the South Central Synod of Wisconsin will gather for it's Synod Assembly to elect our next bishop.

Messiah (because of its number of congregation members) is able to send two men and two women to represent our congregation at Synod Assembly.

Jeff and Paula Stadtmueller have volunteered to be two of our lay voting members. If you are interested in being either a man or women voting member, please contact Pr. Jeff.

Please join us in prayer for Jeff and Paula and all those who are voting on how our Synod moves "Forward".

2026 Synod Assembly - May 15th - 16th

The Church doesn’t move forward by accident. It moves forward with intention, shaped by those who came before us, and guided by the Spirit toward what’s next.

This year’s South-Central Synod of Wisconsin Assembly gathers under the theme Forward, an invitation to honor the faithful witness that has brought us to this moment while doing the real, grounded work of discerning where God is calling us next.

The Synod Assembly is the highest legislative body of our synod, the place where the Church, in its fullest local expression, gathers to act. We discuss and pass resolutions. We elect leadership that will carry this synod’s mission. We share stories from our missional partners across the Church. We have the conversations that shape who we are and what we prioritize. 

Lay voting members from each of our 133 congregations, all called Rostered Ministers, campus ministry representatives, synodically authorized worshiping communities, and retired Rostered Ministers all have a seat at the table. That’s not a small thing.

Some of the most important moments happen outside the business sessions. In the hallway conversations. Over a meal. In the connection between two congregations who rarely get to be in the same room. The relationships built here, and the resources discovered through them, are just as much a part of how the Church moves forward as any resolution we pass.

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.

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.

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

Two Immigration Related Events

Rapid Response Training -  St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church - March 20th - 6:00-8:30 pm

A New Group for Those Who Sew

or Would Like to Learn

March 21 - 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Our goal is to encourage/teach people to sew while helping those in need.

In this group, we plan to sew simple projects to donate to charity.

We are starting with Ryan's Cases. These simple pillowcases are donated to the American Family Children's Hospital here in Madison.

As the skills of the group grow, we will also make "Little Dresses For Africa".

We will continue to look for other charities for which we can sew. Whether you are a skilled seamstress already or just starting out, this will be a great way to give to those in need.

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.

Gun Violence in Wisconsin Fact Sheet

When many of us hear “gun violence,” we think “mass shootings.” Those are horrific and should not be minimized in any way. At the same time, many people are unaware of the role guns play in homicides and suicides. Access to a gun can make an escalated argument or a critical moment of despair turn fatal.

We are one month out from our Safe Gun Disposal Event at St. Paul’s AME church at 4525 Diamond Drive.

The event takes place on Saturday, March 21st from 9:00 am -12:00 noon, followed by a forging event 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm.

Consider if you or someone you know might consider disposing of a gun that you or they are no longer using.

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

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 - 12

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.

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.