Annual Backpack Collection - July 1 - July 31

The Messiah community is incredibly generous in supporting kids and youth in need. We have the supplies we need for the Safe Harbor bags that will be packed during the Mission Trip, and Kennedy School van shopping will happen in July!

We now ask for your support and generosity with the annual Backpack Collection which provides school supplies to children in need at 6 elementary schools plus DAIS and The Road Home. Our goal is to pack 265 backpacks.

In order to make sure we have just what we need, and not too much or little of something, we have posted a signup in the gathering space just like we did for the Easter Collection. Please add your name by the items you purchase and put them in one of the collection boxes inside the front door or under the signup.

We also are more than happy to accept a donation by check, cash or on REALM-it is among the first items on the giving dropdown menu. Someone from the backpack team will do the shopping and will note on the signup what your donation purchased. 

The collection ends July 31st so we can get the backpacks to schools early in August. 

Ladies Lunch Bunch - July 8th

El Gallo

 6309 Monona Drive  Monona, WI

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 608-716-4600

In honor of Pride Month, the Ladies Lunch Bunch June Gathering collected $60.00 for Messiah's RIC Mission

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

Please see the flyer for more information 

and to sign up.

Summer Mini Mission Opportunity for children - July 13 and 14 - 8:00 - noon

We are excited to invite our littlest learners to join us for a summer learning opportunity here at Messiah. Our summer "Mini" Mission is an opportunity for our children to serve others in our community. Children will learn about the importance of serving and the different ways we can serve through stories, discussion, and hands-on experiences. We will work with the YOW group to complete service projects that will help others in our community and we will spend some time playing and eating together. 

The Mission takes place here at Messiah on Monday, July 13 and Tuesday, July 14 from 8:00 AM until 12. Students will have a hot breakfast prepared for them and should bring a sack lunch to eat later in the day.

This opportunity is open to all children currently ages 4 through 4th grade. We hope you can join us!

Save the Dates for Pride Celebrations

"1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted a Culture" - July 14th 5:00 - 7:00

On July 14th we will gather to watch "1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted a Culture," a documentary about how the word "homosexual" was inserted into the Bible and how it has been addressed since. 

5:00 - Dinner and DaMontae January from OutReach will present an educational session called LGBTQ+ 101, (OutReach is a community center offering social & supportive services to the LGBTQ+ community in Dane County. 

6:00 - movie  

7:30 - Conversation

Please sign up on the kiosk or contact Elizabeth at volunteer@messiahchurch.com  so we can have enough food and make sure we are accounting for dietary needs.

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

This inspiring event brings together 1,000 to 3,000

Women of the ELCA for four days of:
 
Powerful worship experiences
Inspiring speakers
Engaging workshops and service projects
A 5K run/walk
 
Registration is $525 for the 4-day event (lodging and transportation are not included).

 Messiah is offering  $275 to offset some of the expense, so please don’t let the cost prohibit you from participating.

Please sign up on the Kiosk if you are interested in joining us for this faith-inspiring event!  

HOLY COW EVENT

Monday July 20th from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 5701 Raymond Road in Madison

The Madison Area Jail Ministry is a one of a kind "inside the walls of the jail" ministry dramatically changing lives through their presence and services. The Madison Area Jail Ministry is operated almost entirely by volunteers except for its two paid chaplains. The Madison Area Jail Ministry is 100% dependent on donations to cover rhe cost of purchasing bibles, religious materials and the chaplains salaries.

With that in mind, we invite you, your friends and all the members of your congregation to come join us for a HOLY COW event, presented by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

This is an on-site event serving pay-what-you-can meals on the lawn with music by the band Acoustic Collective. All proceeds of this event go directly to the Madison Area Jail Ministry.

Jail Ministry volunteers will be in attendance to chat with you and answer any questions that you may have and to share it's vital importance to those in the jail. 

In the event of bad weather, the event will be moved indoors. Any questions about this event or Madison Area Jail Ministry, please email phundt@madisonjailministry.org

"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.

A big “thank you” to Jay Kiefer from Briarpatch who spoke at our services last weekend.  Jay has been at Briarpatch for 38-years and works with amazing staff, youth ages 10-24-years and their families.  Briarpatch has been around for 55-years and helps 2,000 youth/year in Dane County to survive and thrive in life.  There are 8-beds for youth at no cost who are homeless or in crisis, needing a bed and a meal. There is a Crisis and Helpline 24/7, 365-days/year and they are located at 2720 Rimrock Road in Madison. 

Briarpatch offers small amounts of care as youth come to them because they have been told:

• They don’t matter,
• Their mistakes define them.
• Their identity is a burden.
• Their future is already limited as to what they can do.

Jay impacts people in helping his staff and his clients.  He tells youth that come to Briarpatch:

• You DO Belong.
• You DO deserve Safety.
• You DO deserve Support and to Continue Growing.

He asked our members to help spread Briarpatch services to young people:

• Call our 24-hour Help Line at 608.251.1126
• Or Toll-Free Line at 800.798.1126
• Or text 608.285.2776 (texts checked M-F 9am-8pm)
  

New Action Circles–Protecting Children from Gun Violence: Imagining a New World

Opportunity from Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, the Guns to Gardens group

Wednesdays on Zoom 

Noon ET, 11:00am CT, 10:00am MT, 9:00am PT 

Bring a bag lunch or brunch!

Summer: July 8 - Aug 5

Register HERE.

This five session series on Zoom will guide you and your congregation in finding your action for protecting children from gun violence. Created by educational and pastoral leaders in the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, this faith-based program covers in one hour a key topic each week:

• Children in the Crossfire: Why is gun violence the top killer of our children?

• Saving Child Lives with Secure Gun Storage

• Seeing Our Children: The mental and spiritual health of children in the crossfire

• Direct Action Options for Real Safety for Children

• Advocacy, Voting and Finding Next Steps for Your Congregation

"At the first session when we learned about the causes of gun violence against children, I was so discouraged. By the final session, I was incredibly hopeful about all the practical things that we can do to protect children from gun violence."

                                                                                                                                                                         --Participant in the Winter Action Circle

Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin

A Source for Civic Engagement Materials

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW) is a ministry of the ELCA that engages Lutherans in nonpartisan advocacy for policies that promote peace, justice, and care for all of God’s creation. Working in collaboration with ELCA World Hunger and the six ELCA synods with congregations in Wisconsin, LOPPW represents the coordinated public policy witness of the ELCA in Wisconsin and serves as a bridge of communication between congregations and lawmakers in Madison.

In 2026, we have two upcoming elections – the primary election (Aug. 11 in Wisconsin) and the general election (Nov. 3). Election years are an opportunity for congregations and individuals to coordinate nonpartisan civic engagement activities. The ELCA teaches that civic engagement is both our calling as Christians and a responsibility for residents of the United States.

LOPPW has an Elections 2026 webpage to share information and resources. We are planning two online events this year, will offer an opportunity for youth education leaders to attend a training, and will share resources that can be used by congregations, ministry teams, and individuals. Please visit our elections webpage to learn more: loppw.org/election/

You can also sign up for our mailing list to receive updates at: loppw.org/action/mailing-list/. Contact Kacy Kostiuk, Director, at kacy.kostiuk@elca.org or 608-940-1808 with any questions or if you would like to learn more. 

 Jevon Diming with Pierre Outreach Services Safe House (POSSH) has been awarded a state Violence Prevention Grant enabling her to step forward in securing a permanent space for a Wellness Lab for Women and Girls so they can walk in and receive care without barriers. This space will offer curated healing modalities, culturally responsive support, and resources tailored to the personal and family needs of each woman and girl served, where healing can happen daily, not just in moments of crisis; it is to provide a space where women and girls know they belong, where they can rebuild, restore, and reimagine their lives.  POSSH is actively pursuing additional grant opportunities and partnerships to sustain and expand this vision, ensuring services remain accessible to those who have historically lacked support.

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.

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.