A Thrill of Hope in a Weary World  is a weekly Advent devotional sent out by the South Central Synod of Wisconsin.

Here is the link to Advent 1 - A Vision of Hope

Lutheran Summer Music's 2025 Musical Advent Calendar

Experience the fifth annual Musical Advent Calendar from Lutheran Summer Music, November 30–December 24. Enjoy daily musical meditations to inspire reflection throughout the Advent season.

Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, with all videos archived at LSMacademy.org/acal. 

Click here to sign up to receive each day’s video directly to your email inbox!

    Synod Care for Creation Team Winter Book Study - Begins January 8

       We will meet every Thursday from 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm, from January 8 through February 5.

Together, we’ll explore the book, Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters, by Sandra Richter, in which the author provides insights into ancient Israelite society that allow us to connect with their wisdom today.

Click here to register for the Zoom. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link. Questions? Contact Deacon Meg Nielsen, Care for Creation Committee Chair.

Racial Justice Book Study - Gun Violence

When Thoughts and Prayers Aren't Enough: A Shooting Survivor's Journey into the Realities of Gun Violence

by Taylor S. Schumann.

Please join us 9:20-10:20 AM on January 11,18 and 25 for a book study to help us prepare for our Safe Disposal of Guns event tentatively planned for March 14th.

Please sign up on the kiosk so we can get your book to you before Christmas, giving you time to begin reading. Books will be provided by Messiah with the opportunity to make a free-will donation of $10 toward the cost.

For a summary of the book from Goodreads go to the Racial Justice Webpage. 

7th Annual Virtual Apple Pie Sale

The Senior Adult Ministry 7th Annual Virtual Apple Pie Sale has just concluded. The sale was a record breaker as we sold $25,530.36 worth of virtual apple pies! This amount will be matched by the Gundlach Family Fund. Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church ELCA will receive $5,000 for their food pantry. This church was affected by the Los Angeles fires and recently the church was in a mandatory evacuation for flash floods and mud slides. Yes, this is the same church that received prayer shawls from Messiah earlier this year.

The remainder of the virtual pie revenue, $46,060.72, (the number in the video was before the final count) will be presented to Second Harvest Food Bank. The presentation is scheduled to occur December 10 during the 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm newscast on WMTV15. Don't miss the broadcast. The on-camera donation to SHFB will then be doubled again to become $92,121.44. This equates into a little over 215,000 meals!

Thank YOU for helping make food available for some very special people.                                      

Check out the SAM Webpage for more information about the pie sale, the SAM Christmas Party on December 17th and other ways SAM is active all year round.

Thank you Shawn Gensch for the fun video!

Here is a link to Ryan's cases website if you would like to see what the organization is doing. 

CASE FOR SMILES

Learn to sew, brush up on your sewing skills

Is your sewing machine getting a little dusty? Are your sewing skills a little bit rusty? How about cleaning both off for a good cause?

We are holding a 4 hour class on making the Hot Dog Pillowcase for Ryan's Case For Smiles | Helping Kids Cope With Cancer.

This class is open to anyone who already sews and to those young and not so young who want to learn how to sew (kids of all ages welcome). 

IF you would like to watch a YouTube to see what we will be making CLICK HERE.   

Our next dates for preparing meals for Healing House are:

December 14-20, 2025

February 1-7, 2026 

March 1-7, 2026

Check the Kiosk for Sign Ups when the date gets closer.

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

40th Annual Holiday Blood Drive on Wednesday, December 24, 2025

at the Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center from 7am – 1 pm

The American Red Cross invites the community to give the gift of blood at Wisconsin’s largest one-day blood drive.

See more information on the Blood Drive Webpage.

Check out the Women's Ministry Webpage to learn more about:

Women’s Ministry Conversation Group  meets December 18th at 10:30 am -12:00 noon

Women’s Book Study - beginning Thursday, January 8, 2026 -

We will begin reading and discussing Philip Yancey’s book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

Divine Yoga Dates - December  9, 16, and 23 more information on the webpage

Ladies Lunch Bunch at Kavanaugh's Esquire Supper Club - December 10th at 11:15 am

Women's Winter Retreat at Fort Wilderness Resort  - January 30 - February 1

Women's Ministry Webpage link

Women's Winter Retreat at Fort Wilderness Resort

The women of Messiah are invited to join the women of St. Luke’s Lutheran (Middleton) for a Women’s Winter Retreat!

 
When: Friday, January 30 – Sunday, February 1
Where: Fort Wilderness Resort, Rhinelander, WI
Why: To praise God, grow in faith, renew friendships, make new friends, and enjoy time together

Cost: $183 per person, which includes lodging; all meals on Saturday; Sunday breakfast; and access to all camp activities. No cooking required! Women often bring snacks or beverages to share in the evenings.

St. Luke’s has been holding this retreat for many years and return again and again—it’s clearly a joyful time of connection and renewal. They have asked me to lead the retreat program this year, and I told them I would be glad to if the women of Messiah could participate as well. Their response was an enthusiastic “Yes!”

Visit the  Women's Ministry webpage for more detailed information

Divine Yoga Advent Series

Continues Tuesday, December 9, 16, and 23 6:00-7:15pm

Divine Yoga sessions are open to all members of Messiah.

The yoga sessions are free with an optional free-will offering to benefit a charity selected by the group.

Sunday Morning Adult Education Advent Lectionary Study

Join us as we read the lessons for each Sunday and discuss what they mean, how they relate to the season of Advent, and how they relate to our lives as we live out our faith.

Sundays from 9:20–10:20 a.m. (between services).

Click to go to the Adult Education Webpage for information about other topics.

Check the Church Calendar to see the dates when other Adult Education offerings will be available.

Kennedy Winter Clothes Collection

Please help children at Kennedy stay dry and warm this winter by purchasing winter items to help make their play outdoors more fun!!!

Visit the Community Outreach page for a way to order and have snowpants, mittens and hats delivered directly to the school.

You can also sign up to help distribute the items at community events.

Thank you again for your support of our Annual Thanksgiving Drive this year. I know it is not an easy task to gather up all 4,000 of those foil pans, but you and the folks at Messiah did it, and we are so impressed and grateful!

It has been incredibly heartwarming to see our city come together to support our community members. This fall, when SNAP benefits were halted, we were concerned that we wouldn’t have enough food to meet the surge in demand - and we almost didn’t. But thanks to your help and the collective care of our community, we’ve been able to keep our pantry shelves stocked, and provide 4,000 families with everything they needed for a Thanksgiving meal.

As the need continues, I’d love to invite you to start planning for a spring food drive ahead of our 💛💙Be the Good Annual Fundraiser💙💛 on Thursday, April 23, 2026 (please save the date!). We’ll announce the winner of our next Friendly Food Drive Competition on stage at that event.

Thank you for your care and continued support. We’re truly grateful to have you as part of our community.

Wishing you rest and joy this holiday season. I look forward to connecting again in the new year.

Items will be picked up for delivery on Sunday, Dec. 14 after the 10:30 service so please bring items in before then. Thank you!

Waterproof Glove and Mitten Collection

The Community Outreach Team will be collecting ONLY waterproof gloves and mittens for several elementary schools in Madison.

If you would prefer, you could make a donation to "Mitten Collection" and we will shop for the gloves and mittens.

YMCA Christmas Collection - There are still a few people to buy for.

Every year we collect Christmas gifts for the women who are permanent residents of the YWCA. We mentioned it last weekend and we have already had a fabulous response from Messiah members who have signed up to purchase 37 of the 55 gifts needed. 

The residents list what they want and you purchase and bring it unwrapped to Messiah. The signup and the donation boxes are in the Gathering Space on the easel near the Office.

Please bring the UNWRAPPED gift to Messiah by December 12th.

Thank you for your continued generosity at Christmas!