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.