by MOSES Publications | May 21, 2025 | MOSES activities, MOSES leadership, Newsletter
Friends of MOSES at Grace Episcopal Church
By Margaret Irwin
People in our congregations who support the work of MOSES may hesitate to get involved because they are already busy with other commitments. So how do we recruit active members and allies? I started by inviting our Organizer, James Morgan, to speak about MOSES at a Sunday forum. He was enthusiastically received, and some people signed a form indicating an interest in learning more. I wasn’t sure what the next step should be but decided to try an experiment.
I invited people who had signed the form and any other interested folks to come to an informational meeting about MOSES led by Thomas Smith and me. We prepared a handout using materials from the website and MOSES emails that included MOSES’s mission and values and descriptions of both MOSES and WISDOM task forces. We talked briefly about these things, plus the history and structure of MOSES.
We went on to explain the many ways one can support MOSES and emphasized that any type of support is welcome. Our suggestions included: get on the mailing list (secretary.moses.madison@gmail.com); attend a monthly general meeting; keep informed by reading the MOSES newsletter and yearbook; try out a task force or indicate an interest in an operational team; attend Madison Action Day; pray for the work of MOSES; donate money; attend the Gala or another event; check out the website (note – a new website is coming soon); submit a letter to your newspaper; call a legislator; tell a friend about MOSES. Again, we sent around a sign-up sheet from which we have formed an email list. And we named ourselves the Friends of MOSES at Grace.
I am working at doing one-on-ones with the Friends and have already connected one member with the RJAC task force. When an opportunity for participation arises, I let the Friends know. A few folks made contributions through the Big Share day. This initiative shows promise of greater awareness and support of MOSES in our congregation. I would be happy to talk with you if you want to try something similar or if you have ideas to share: mbirwin@charter.net .
Increasing Engagement at Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society
By Pam Gates
Prairie UU has been a member of MOSES since 2013, when a special meeting was held and those present voted unanimously to join. They passed the hat and raised the $200 membership dues at the same meeting!
Staying involved with MOSES has fallen mostly to me, the MOSES rep since that day, but lately there have been signs that interest may be building again, for several possible reasons. First, the problems with Wisconsin’s criminal-legal system are far more in the public eye than they used to be, thanks in part to the work of MOSES and WISDOM over the past ten years. Another reason may be that Trump’s actions have created a great deal of distress, and people are feeling the need to do something. A third reason may be that I have finally come up with some ideas to transmit MOSES concerns that seem to work better than simply leaving yearbooks and newsletters in the lobby. Even mentioning that I’d done that never seemed to generate a lot of response.
Recently, our new minister, our director of religious exploration (kids’ ministry), and I came up with the idea of adding one “MOSES sentence” per week to our Weekly News email. Our administrator was happy to do it and even added a MOSES logo. Here’s a sample: “Did you know … that Blacks make up about 7% of Wisconsin’s population, but about 50% of those incarcerated in this state?”
I also made use of the service auction, which Prairie holds every year as a fund-raiser. Members bid on opportunities or items provided by other members. Last year I extended an invitation to the Gala as my contribution, and two members took me up on it. Our interim minister attended on his own. This year, I will have four Prairie guests at the Gala, and I had two at Madison Action Day. A third signed up but had to work. Altogether, in fact, Prairie had seven people attending Madison Action Day this year, two of them also singing with the Raging Grannies!
Our new minister has made a commitment to attend some general MOSES meetings and has already offered to give a reflection. Sundays are busy days for ministers, and she’s only half-time, but she is clearly interested in the concerns MOSES addresses, which is a definite plus for the Prairie-MOSES connection!
by MOSES Publications | May 21, 2025 | Meetings, MOSES activities, MOSES leadership, Newsletter
General Membership (Hybrid, as of this edition)
- Sunday, May 18, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, June 8, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, July 13, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Aug. 10, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Leadership Board (Hybrid)
- Saturday, May 31, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, July 26, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
MOSES Task Forces (via Zoom)
- Justice System Reform Initiative (JSRI)
May 8, June 12, July 10, Aug. 14, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
- Racial Justice for All Children (RJAC)
May 20, June 17, July 15, Aug. 19, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
WISDOM Task Forces
May 10, June 14, July 12, Aug. 9, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
- Conditions of Confinement Conference Call
May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 19, 5-6 p.m.
May 22, June 26, July 24, Aug. 28, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
- Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) Zoom call
June 3, July 1, Aug. 5, Sept. 2, 5 p.m.
by MOSES Publications | Mar 1, 2025 | Featured, Information, MOSES leadership, Support MOSES, Yearbook
New Congregations That Joined MOSES in 2024
2024 brought three new congregations/organizations into the MOSES fold. While all new members are celebrated, these three additions were particularly welcome. A longtime goal for MOSES has been to increase diversity in our membership. Our President, Saundra Brown, has made it her personal goal to bring more African American congregations into MOSES. Second Baptist Church became her first milestone toward that goal.
Anyone who has attended our monthly meetings would quickly observe that our membership is more senior in nature than we might like. While we of retirement age do have more discretionary time to spend, like any organization we value the ideas and energy of younger members. Thus we were thrilled to add The Crossing to our membership rolls this year. The Crossing is a multifaith, progressive student ministry at UW-Madison. It is supported by three Protestant denominations: American Baptist, United Methodist, and United Church of Christ.
The third new member congregation that joined us this year was Middleton Community United Church of Christ. The history of this congregation is unique, as it was founded in 1936 by a group of people who wanted a Sunday School for area children whose parents were not members of the existing Lutheran or Catholic denominations. As a result, it has always been known as “the church home for those who do not have a home.”
All three of our new member organizations are very committed to activities in the wider community. In addition to its regular church services, Second Baptist currently celebrates Annual Days and is active with Allied Partners and other outreach programs. As a congregation working with compassion to help people caught for too long in a complex criminal-legal system that is especially repressive to Black, brown, and poor people, they are a great fit with MOSES. Pastor Anthony Wade says, “Let’s do it!”
The Crossing’s Executive Director Mike Burch first became connected with Jerry Hancock of the Prison Ministry Project and MOSES organizer James Morgan. That led to The Crossing becoming a member of MOSES. Mike hopes to expand the work of The Crossing to reach out to students on campus who have been affected by the carceral system.
Middleton Community Church, led by The Rev. Zayna Thomley and a committed lay community, has a long history of reaching out to the community. They welcome their neighbors for summer twilight movies on the lawn, “Trunk or Treat” for Halloween, and an Electric Vehicle and Sustainability Show. They are also involved in raising food for local pantries at the Forward Garden at the Pope farm.
These are just thumbnail sketches of our three new member congregations. For more detailed information, go online to our web page https://www.mosesmadison.org/, click on “About Us,” and then go to Newsletters. You will find more information about The Crossing in the February/ March issue, Middleton Community Church in the April/May issue, and Second Baptist Church in the October/November issue.
by MOSES Publications | Dec 31, 2024 | Information, MOSES leadership, Support MOSES
Congregational/Organizational Members
Call to Action Catholics Madison Area
First Unitarian Society of Madison
First United Methodist Church
Grace Episcopal Church
Holy Wisdom Monastery
James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Lake Edge Lutheran Church
Madison Christian Community (Advent Lutheran and Community of Hope United Church of Christ)
Madison Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Messiah Lutheran Church
Middleton Community United Church of Christ
Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ
Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society
Prison Ministry Project and The Crossing Campus Ministry
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church
St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church
Second Baptist Church
Snowflower Buddhist Sangha
Southwest Wisconsin Association of the United Church of Christ, Division of Social Concerns
Unity of Madison
Mission partners:
Memorial United Church of Christ
Midvale Community Lutheran Church
Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ
by MOSES Publications | Jun 30, 2024 | Information, MOSES activities, MOSES leadership
Thoughts from the President: Teamwork Is a Strength
From Saundra Brown
While every single team member’s job is important and necessary, teamwork ought never be used to bring personal gain, nor should it ever be based on ill-fated assumptions.
According to WISDOM’s Attitudes and Disciplines, we believe that everyone has something to offer, and that we need everyone’s gifts if we are to succeed.
As I look through the lens of success for MOSES, I perceive teamwork as our greatest tool. Teamwork must be built deliberately and over time. It helps contribute positively to every aspect of our work. It can also help build a deeper connection with people, and possibly open up new opportunities.
Teamwork is not new, and neither is it old, but it is always timely. In my Bible, in Genesis 1:26-27, it says, “And God said, ‘Let US make man in OUR image…’” This tells me that teamwork has been in existence since the beginning of time and is an essential component for success.
MOSES has many acronyms, so to bring home my point about teamwork, I decided to add one more.
TEAMWORK IS:
T = Togetherness: All are in the same place mentally and physically.
E = Energizing: It gives vitality and enthusiasm to the work.
A = Agreeing: It affords us the ability to reach a consensus.
M = Mindfulness: It lends itself to being attentive to others’ thoughts,
opinions, and ideas.
W = Working: Teamwork is work. There are duties, tasks, and jobs that must be
properly and effectively done, and sometimes one must deny oneself.
O = Organizing: It calls for arranging, coordinating, and being supportive.
R = Rewarding: It promotes satisfaction.
K = Kinship: It is a basis for forming and building wholesome relationships and
promotes a sense of connectedness.
As we move forward, it is important to remember that TEAMWORK gets the work of MOSES done, in a more excellent way!
by MOSES Publications | Jun 30, 2024 | Information, MOSES activities, MOSES leadership, Newsletter
A Tribute to Our Past President, Rachel Kincade
By Margaret Irwin
When Rachel Kincade became active in MOSES, she brought with her a wealth of experience in direct service to unhoused youth and adults. A native of Minneapolis, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Her life’s direction was set when a friend told her about the kids her teenage son brought home because they had no place to stay. Rachel and her friend decided to do something about this. Rachel was especially drawn to this ministry, because she knew she could have used more adult support while she was growing up.
The two began by obtaining a grant to survey youth on the street and the resources available to them. Since many of these kids were basically invisible to the community, the large number of unhoused kids that the survey revealed shocked Duluth. Rachel and her friend decided to provide a home for youth ages 16-24 who had no place to live; they named it Life House. Rachel spent 17 years running Life House, fulfilling its mission to “Reconnect Homeless and Street Youth to Their Dreams.” Life House has grown and flourished to this day, providing many housing units as well as drop-in day services.
In 2010, Rachel decided to move to Madison to be near her daughter and husband and their growing family, which now numbers four children ranging in age from 12 to 21. She continued her direct service work, helping set up a transitional housing program for men leaving prison. Once it was up and running, she moved on to helping establish Breaking Barriers, a service for at-risk and homeless youth.
The director of Breaking Barriers invited Rachel to participate in a training led by WISDOM Executive Director David Liners. David showed her that while direct service is important, it is vital to change the system so that there will be less need for remedial direct service. She realized he was right when she thought about the youth she had encountered in her work, who were on a glide path from “kiddie prison” to jail to prison. Rachel says David pushed the right buttons that made her say, “Yes, yes, yes! Policy is the way to go!” And MOSES was the way to get involved, which she did with enthusiasm.
In December 2023, Rachel concluded four years as our president. Her goals were to keep MOSES growing and thriving, to keep it funded, and to keep the task forces enthused about their work. Being a volunteer herself made her grateful for the many hours of valuable time members contribute to MOSES. Another goal was to get the Leadership Board more involved in decision-making, rather than serving as a rubber stamp for the Executive Committee. This meant ensuring that there was time for discussion in the meetings. She tried to keep harmony within MOSES and to help it operate smoothly. Not wanting a hierarchical situation where the president gets all the kudos, she partnered with current president Saundra Brown in running meetings.
COVID added a new layer of difficulty to keeping MOSES on a steady course. Switching to meetings on Zoom involved a steep learning curve for all of us, and we’re all familiar with the ongoing technical problems in running hybrid meetings. Additional work fell to Rachel and other MOSES leaders because of gaps in the presence of a paid organizer for significant periods of her tenure.
At the same time Rachel was serving as president, she was the lead for the MOSES fundraising team and the chair of the WISDOM Conditions of Confinement Task Force. In addition, she was appointed to the new Civilian Oversight Board in Madison.
Rachel’s MOSES story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning her marriage to James Morgan. James’s kindness was apparent when he helped her with a broken muffler after a meeting at her church and then offered to take her to a medical appointment the next morning. Breakfast that day was followed by walks and talks – lots of talk, and the discovery of their love for one another. James and Rachel will celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary on August 26.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Rachel was elected vice-president of WISDOM at a WISDOM retreat in January. MOSES is well-represented in WISDOM leadership, since Talib Akbar serves as the other vice president. Rachel is enjoying a different form of organization that encourages the free flow of conversation and fresh ideas.
We are grateful to Rachel for guiding MOSES over the last four years in service to our mission, and we wish her and James all the best.
