Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, Committed to Justice
Education Hour Sundays @ 9:00am
Worship Sundays @ 10:00am

A progressive church congregation in the United Church of Christ

Phase 1 of the Veggie Village fence replacement last week! A huge thank you goes out to the over 20 community gardeners...
04/26/2026

Phase 1 of the Veggie Village fence replacement last week! A huge thank you goes out to the over 20 community gardeners, ORUCC members and ORUCC youth who removed the old fence on Sunday in advance of construction this weekend.

Thanks to our partners at and the SEED Grant program for partially funding the project!

What a great turnout on Sunday for the Palm Sunday Path in Madison! ORUCC folks joined with hundreds of other Christians...
03/31/2026

What a great turnout on Sunday for the Palm Sunday Path in Madison! ORUCC folks joined with hundreds of other Christians from around the Madison area to worship and walk together in this public liturgy and witness.

We affirmed the way of Jesus, rooted in the power of love, justice, peace and inclusion, and stood against the powers of dehumanization, domination and exclusion.

There were Palm Sunday Path demonstrations in 17 states, with estimates of over 20,000 people of faith participating! 🤩🌈✝️💖🕊️

Palm Sunday is coming! Join with us in Madison at 2:30 on 3/29 (King Street corner of the capitol) to bear faithful witn...
03/20/2026

Palm Sunday is coming! Join with us in Madison at 2:30 on 3/29 (King Street corner of the capitol) to bear faithful witness to Jesus’ way of compassion, justice, and expansive love; and against the rising tide of authoritarianism and white christian nationalism.

03/20/2026

Thank you to all who are supporting our March Compassion Offering recipient, Worker Justice Wisconsin.

Worker Justice Wisconsin is a Madison-based non-profit that works with low-wage and immigrant workers to build collective worker power through four programs. These programs include: the anti-wage theft campaign, where workers are taught to read their pay stubs, file complaints with the state, and organize publicly to pressure bad employers who steal from their employees; the construction campaign, where construction workers are educated on their rights and receive strategic support in organizing against exploitative contractors; the workplace organizing program, where workers receive support in creating their own union; and the co-ops incubation program, where workers who want to own their own business receive educational and organizational support. Funds from the compassion offering will be used to support this program.

Worker cooperatives are autonomous workplaces where workers own and manage the business democratically and distribute profit equitably among themselves. In other words, there is no traditional hierarchical relationship between employer and employee. Because establishing a worker co-op is difficult, and immigrant workers face additional language, cultural, and entrepreneurial barriers, WJW’s program demystifies this process and provides education and mentorship. In 2025, WJW helped launch Los Volcanes, a textile and screen printing co-op. In 2026, WJW plans to launch a commercial cleaning co-op.

WJW is facing a substantial loss of federal funds. The co-op incubation program in particular has been seriously affected. During the last two years, WJW received close to $40,000 from the U. S Department of Agriculture, for this program. Under the new administration, that money no longer exists.

Here's more info: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P1oHWoX1EUo

You are invited to come sing! Bring a neighbor! Bring your children! Build community and share in a spirit of hope.Orcha...
03/11/2026

You are invited to come sing! Bring a neighbor! Bring your children! Build community and share in a spirit of hope.

Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ is delighted to host a community sing, 'Songs of Hope, Songs of Resistance,' Friday March 13, 2026, beginning at 5:30pm followed by a potluck. This event is in collaboration with the Palm Sunday Path, and local song-leader Sarah Burgess.

The intention of our time together is to buoy our spirits with hope and community, while also learning songs in preparation for the Palm Sunday Path, taking place at 2:30pm on Sunday March 29th, where progressive Christians will flood the Capitol in Madison, waving our palms and calling for a more just world in the spirit of Matthew 25.

Register here!
https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/WisconsinCouncilofChurches/CommunitySinging.html

03/07/2026

At Orchard Ridge UCC, we strive to be spiritually alive, joyfully inclusive, and committed to justice.

We are an open and affirming church, saying: no matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.

03/01/2026

A short blessing from Pastor Julia: "You are never alone."

02/20/2026

Hello wider ORUCC community. We need your help in spreading the word! Our wonderful office manager George is retiring, and we are in the process of searching for a new office manager. You can help by holding us in prayer, that we find the best office manager for us. You can also help by sharing this post! Do you know someone who might be perfect for the job? Email resume to [email protected]

https://oppsearch.ucc.org/web/fastdetails.aspx?id=6981&KeepThis=false&TB_iframe=true&height=&width=

On Ash Wednesday we remember that from Mother Earth we came and to Earth we shall return. We are humbled and grounded kn...
02/18/2026

On Ash Wednesday we remember that from Mother Earth we came and to Earth we shall return. We are humbled and grounded knowing our deep connection to God’s loving embrace of Mother Earth. On Ash Wednesday we begin our Lenten journey.

While many associate Lent with “giving up” something, the traditions of “Fasting, Praying and Almsgiving” are meant to ‘rehearse us’ for Feasting every day with the LIFESTYLE and the LOVESTYLE of Jesus. So eat that chocolate! And this Lent, let us, in the words of
Dr. John Leonard,

“Faat from fear and feast on love...
Fast from violence, feast on peace.
Fast from hatred, feast on care.
Fast from terror, feast on hope. 
Fast from envy, feast on joy.
Fast from judgment,
feast on compassion. 
Fast from despair and feast on trust.
Fast from anxiety, feast on wonder.

Fast from cruelty,
feast on kindness.
Fast from revenge,
feast on forgiveness. 
Fast from complacency,
feast on justice. 
Fast from aloneness,
feast on connection.
Fast from shame and
feast on delight. 
Fast from selfishness,
feast on giving.

Fast from resentment,
feast on tenderness.
Fast from arrogance,
feast on humility. 
Fast from worry,
feast on playfulness.
Fast from busyness, feast on rest. 
Fast from bleakness,
feast on beauty.
Fast from chaos, feast on silence.
Fast from violence, feast on peace.
Fast from fear and feast on love. 

This is the fast that Love has chosen: for us to bring the day of justice, For us to free those who are in chains, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, To offer shelter to the homeless, to tend the sick and those in pain, To welcome the lonely, the lost, and the least.

This is our fast. This is our feast.”

Join us for ashes 02/18/26 at 5pm

Photos from Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash

Our Lenten journey now begins! Our intention for this Lent is to be grounded, rooted in the good news. Our theme is call...
02/18/2026

Our Lenten journey now begins! Our intention for this Lent is to be grounded, rooted in the good news. Our theme is called, “Tell me Something Good,” from Sanctified Arts. Lent was originally a season for new converts to learn and prepare for their baptism on Easter. During that time, they would study what was central to Christianity. We will study what was central to Jesus’ life and ministry: radical welcome, love for neighbor, care for the vulnerable, nourishment for the hungry, nonviolence in the face of injustice. At the heart of Jesus’ teachings, we find liberation, love, mercy, and grace—all of which are meant to be very good news for us all. Jesus’ ministry can be described as “radical” which comes from the Latin word “radicalis,” meaning “root” or “ground.” Therefore, the good news should bring us back to our roots. Emulating Jesus and embodying his teachings should ground us in who God created us to be. Can we be “good news” people in a world too often burdened by bad news?

We have fresh off the presses, available at church, daily devotional cards for enhanced spiritual practice during Lent. You may pick up your cards in the office this week between 8:30am-1pm, at Ash Wednesday Service 5pm 2/18, or in worship this Sunday February 22nd. We ask that you take one pack of devotional cards per household and if you are so moved, you are welcome to make a $10 donation for printing cost, but not required.

Lent is an opportunity to practice enhanced spiritual practice, and devotional cards are a great way into a new practice. As Pastor Julia said in her sermon this Sunday, “Spiritual practice allows us to withstand the contrast of life- to find peace when there is no peace, to find warmth where there is only cold, to hold on to hope when the situation seems hopeless, to hear the words of Jesus when he says, “do not be afraid,” when there seems to be so much fear surrounding us.”

ďťżWe are so glad to be in this journey with you.

Love,

Pastor Julia Burkey, Pastor Kate Mackey & Pastor Ken Pennings

Address

1501 Gilbert Road
Madison, WI
53711

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 12pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 12pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 12pm
Thursday 8:30am - 12pm
Sunday 8:30am - 12pm

Telephone

+16082717212

Website

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