2022
June Lighthouse
Sizzling celebrations this summer, plus more news in this month’s edition of Madeline Island Lighthouse.
2022
Madeline Island Racial Justice Study Group
Please join members of the extended Madeline Island community as we continue to use Zoom to meet, discuss, and learn about ways to promote racial justice:
7:00-8:00 p.m. (Central time)
First Wednesday of the month
Zoom Meeting ID: 867 4134 0213
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86741340213
This is a community-sponsored activity and all are welcome! For more information or to be added to the email distribution list, contact Robin Roderick at robinrest@aol.com
Background
This group was started in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the protests which followed. Many of us have and do feel a need to be part of a culture of change, and believe that such change can take many forms. We have chosen to further and deepen our own knowledge of the history, culture and practice of racism and efforts to dismantle racism in this country.
Upcoming Calendar of Topics
May and June – Treuer, Anton “ The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World”
July – Grann, David, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI”
August and September – TBD
October – LaDuke, Winona “To Be a Water Protector: The Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers” The MI Bookclub is also reading this in October and we hope to do a joint meeting.
November – Erdrich, Louise “ The Sentence”
December – TBD
Some of the books, articles, podcasts and films we have discussed in the past:
November 2020 (Wednesday, November 4th)
- Mark Charles – Ted Talk –The truth behind ‘We the People’ – the three most misunderstood words in US history. https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_charles_the_truth_behind_we_the_people_the_three_most_misunderstood_words_in_us_history
- Wisconsin PBS – Tribal Histories-https://www.pbs.org/show/tribal-histories/ Complete episode list on Wisconsin PBS (There are more episodes than what I saw listed on the main PBS site) https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/tribal-histories/
- Tommy Orange – There There Book
December 2020 (Wednesday, December 2nd)
- Podcast – ‘How Are Contemporary Native Americans Thriving?’ with Dr. Elizabeth Rule from Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-are-contemporary-native-americans-thriving-dr-elizabeth/id1068563276?i=1000494674841
- Podcast — Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/us/thanksgiving-myths-fact-check.html?referringSource=articleShare
- Podcast — Serial and The New York Times: “Nice White Parents” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html
January 2021 (Wednesday, January 6th)
- James Baldwin – I Am Not Your Negro Available for streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix
- James Baldwin – The Fire Next Time Book.
February 2021 (Wednesday, February 3rd)
- Ava DuVernay – Thirteenth Available for streaming from Netflix
- Michelle Alexander – The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Book
March 2021
- Louise Erdrich, The Round House
2022
Penny Gill’s Book Launch – The Radiant Heart of the Cosmos
All are invited to celebrate the release The Radiant Heart of the Cosmos: Compassion Teachings for Our Time, written by Penny Gill. It is part memoir, in which Penny tells some stories of her own spiritual journey these last years, and partly a collection of teachings from Penny and her guides, Manjushri and Kwan Yin.
Please join the conversation between Penny and her editor Jennifer Browdy, at our zoom launch Sunday, May 22, 2022, at 2 PM CST.
Can’t make it? The session will be recorded, and a video will be available for you to enjoy afterward. Just register now, and you will receive the link!
2022
May Lighthouse
In this Lighthouse we’ve shared some upcoming dates to save in the summer calendar, guest preachers, and more news on the Island.
2022
April Lighthouse
In this Lighthouse we’ve shared the Holy Week service schedule, as well as study groups, Woods Hall news, and more!
2022
March Lighthouse
Read the March Lighthouse with news and events coming up this month.
2022
Read the February 2022 Lighthouse
Attached is your February issue of the Lighthouse. And….drumroll….. we have some super exciting news to share! No spoiler alert here. You’ll have to open your newsletter and read it for yourself!
2022
Second Century Endowment
Yes! We did it! We met the incredibly generous Challenge Match to stimulate St. John’s Second Century Endowment. Our Endowment consists of donations received to date plus planned gifts that will benefit our church and/or Woods Hall at a future date. Investments in the Second Century Endowment will sustain the work of St. John’s and leave a lasting impact on the Madeline Island community. Together, we are touching lives and enhancing our community… now and in the coming century.
When we established the Second Century Endowment, we identified three objectives that we believe will have the greatest impact – and benefit – for our community. These objectives include:
- One Sacred Place provides ongoing support for pastoral leadership and maintenance and improvement of campus-wide facilities of St. John’s and Woods Hall. Some funds may be designated for specific capital projects or improvements.
- Island Home supports the spiritual, artistic, social, and economic needs of those who call Madeline Island home. Some funds may be designated for emerging issues in our local community.
- New Initiatives establishes innovative projects in any area of the congregation, our local community, or wider church at the discretion of the Church Council and Woods Hall Board of Directors. It may not be used for on-going support of projects.
Partnering with Wisconsin Foundation UCC and Wisconsin Conference UCC gives us a tremendous opportunity to promote and grow our endowment funds. We will draw no more than five percent per year from our Second Century Endowment. Of course, the more we grow the endowment, the more income we will be able to designate toward these three primary objectives.
Now that the work of meeting our Challenge Match is complete, our next big push is to encourage planned giving. We hope Madeline Island families – people for whom this island is a special place – will want to create a legacy for future generations
Making bequests to St. John’s Second Century Endowment through the Wisconsin Foundation UCC is easy. Most estate gifts come as bequests because these gifts can be easily created as part of a will. You can also make a charitable bequest by designating the St. John’s Second Century Endowment as the “payment on death” (POD) of a bank or stock account.
Working with Andrew Warner, Wisconsin Conference UCC, has been a delight. Andrew has helped individuals and families decide whether their preference is to make a bequest as either a percentage of an estate, a specific dollar amount, or contingent on the primary beneficiaries. In addition, he helps people develop clear instructions on the purpose of their gift. Some prefer to direct their gift to one organization, while others prefer multiple organizations.
Rev. Andrew Warner, Director of Development for the Wisconsin Conference, will gladly answer questions about making a bequest and explain how your gift will impact St. John’s work. He can also answer your questions about how to make a restricted gift or gifts of real assets, like real estate, in keeping with the Gift Acceptance Policy of the United Church of Christ.
For more information about financial options that can benefit St. John’s and Woods Hall, please contact:
Rev. Andrew Warner
Wisconsin Conference UCC
4459 Gray Road
DeForest, WI 53532
(414) 758 6233
awarner@wcucc.org
2022
Read the January 2022 New Year Lighthouse
Happy New Year to one and all from St. John’s and Woods Hall! This issue of the Lighthouse is devoted to Woods Hall – its artists, studio members, staff, board members, education, and mentorship programs. Huge hats off to our Studio and Gallery Retail Manager Tyna Waterhouse who keeps everything running smoothly and is ready to help with in-person and remote shopping. On behalf of everyone at St. John’s and Woods Hall, I wish you the best for this new year. May it be fulfilling, rewarding, and inspiring
2021
Read The Lighthouse for December
It’s Christmas season, and the December issue of The Lighthouse has all of the news and information about happenings at St. John’s. Read this month’s edition below.