Oct
31
2007
By Desmond Tutu | October 26, 2007
While this essay relates directly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it also speaks to the ongoing work of faith inspired justice work - wherever that is.
WHENEVER I am asked if I am optimistic about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I say that I am not. Optimism requires clear signs that things are changing - meaningful words and unambiguous actions that point to real progress. I do not yet hear enough meaningful words, nor do I yet see enough unambiguous deeds to justify optimism.
However, that does not mean I am without hope. I am a Christian. I am constrained by my faith to hope against hope, placing my trust in things as yet unseen. Hope persists in the face of evidence to the contrary, undeterred by setbacks and disappointment. Hoping against hope, then, I do believe that a resolution will be found. It will not be perfect, but it can be just; and if it is just, it will usher in a future of peace. Continue Reading »
Oct
31
2007
By Annie Dillard
There is no one to send, nor a clean hand, nor a pure heart on the face of the earth, nor in the earth, but only us, a generation comforting ourselves with the notion that we have come at an awkward time, that our innocent fathers are all dead - as if innocence had ever been - and our children busy and troubled, and we ourselves unfit, not yet ready, having each of us chosen wrongly, made a false start, failed, yielded to impulse and the tangled comfort of pleasures, and grown exhausted, unable to seek the thread, weak, and involved. But there is no one but us. There never has been.
Oct
28
2007
Click here for an audio version of Ree’s sermon from October 28, 2007
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Oct
24
2007
On Sunday, Paul Hedges showed a 20 minute DVD on the history of the United Church of Christ in the Southwest part of Wisconsin. This was commissioned for the 50th anniversary of our denomination and first shown on Sunday, October 14 at a Association wide celebration. Paul was the interviewer, filmer and editor of this DVD. He followed the DVD with reflections of his own about where he found hope and how it impacted him. This audio clip is his “sermonette” following the DVD. When it is available, we will post the entire DVD on this site as well.
Finding Hope Unexpectedly:
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Oct
22
2007
The Orchard Ridge UCC High School (9th-12th Grade) Mission trip will be July 27-August 2, 2008. We will travel to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to work with Mission on the Bay, an Episcopal related hurricane recovery organization. Visit
www.campcoastcare.com and click on Mission on the Bay to learn more. It will be a great opportunity to serve, learn, grow in our relationship with God, and build deeper friendships with one another. I hope this will be one of the first things you schedule in your 2008 calendar. For more information on being a participant, contact Tammy Martens at tmartens@orucc.org.
