Small Group Ministry

An Unlikely Advent

This four-week Advent study written by pastor Rachel Billups, will focus on the experiences of some of the overlooked characters in the Christmas story.  We will look at the stories of Elizabeth and Zechariah, Herod, the Magi and the shepherds as we explore the Advent themes of Hope, Love, Peace and Joy. 

Join us on Wednesdays from noon to 1 pm in the Chapel:  November 29, December 6, 13 & 20, or on Sundays from 9:45-10:30 am in the Conference Room:  November 26, December 3, 10 & 17.  Pastor Jenny will teach the Wednesday class and Pastor Brad will teach the Sunday class. Please contact the church office (abby@sunprairieumc.org) to let us know which class you would like to attend and we will make sure to order you a book.

Garden Team is a fun and relaxing way to spend time with family and friends as you help keep our UMC looking beautiful.
There are two options offered: Garden Bed Crew and Maintenance Crew

Garden Bed Crew:
We’ll help pick a section for you to work on during the Spring-Fall growing season. Twice a month, you’ll work on things like weeding, ‘dead-heading’ flowers, and clearing away dead leafage. In the Fall,
all perennials and grasses need to be cut back. We have a ‘Mulch Day’ in the Spring that our members and volunteers spread new mulch on the beds. You will be the ‘artistic’ caretaker of your garden
area, so you’ll have the freedom to plant annuals, perennials, or thin
existing plants as you see fit.
Maintenance Crew:
You will be called on approximately 3-4 times a growing season to
bring your tools to help with fertilizing grass, trimming bushes, cleaning up and cutting back plant materials in the Fall, and helping
at Mulch Day.
Please consider joining our Garden Club by contacting:
Judy Krebs at judykrebs8549@gmail.com
or Penny Finn at pfinn04@gmail.com

Grace Cafe is a book group for women that meets on Thursday evenings or  Friday mornings from 9:30-11:30am. Grace Cafe is a time for you to fellowship with other women, as well as grow in your faith through scripture, discussion, friendships and of course, food and coffee! Come and be pampered while you get together with both long-time and new friends to discuss a good book. There is typically one book in the fall, winter and spring.

Thursday Grace Cafe –

This fall,Thursday Grace Café will be doing something completely different.  Instead of a book, we will be discussing Contemporary Christian music as well as gospel songs – which, when you think about it, are modern day Psalms.  They praise our Good Shepherd. They lament how unfair and hard life can be. They talk about human struggles and weaknesses.

Each week, at home, we will listen to specific songs (titles sent via email along with Youtube links and lyrics).  At our sessions, we will discuss the words and thoughts of each piece – just like we do with a book: how did it impact your life, what spoke to you, did you learn something, did you agree with the premise, did you disagree with the premise, how will you use this song in your walk of faith?

If you are interested, please contact the church office (abby@sunprairieumc.org), Sue Nonte or Ann Menees.  There will be NO cost. Child care would be available. We meet on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:00.  We will meet on September 21 & 28, October 5, 12, November 2, 9, 16. We hope you can join us!

Coming in September:  Friday morning Grace Cafe will start on Friday, Sept. 22 at 9:30-11:30 am in the Chapel.  All women are welcome.  We will be reading the book “The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully” by Joan Chittister. A brief review = not only accepting but celebrating getting old, this inspirational and illuminating work looks at the many facets of the aging process, from purposes and challenges to struggles and surprises.  The book is available on Amazon. We will be discussing the Introduction and pages 1-20 on Sept 22.  If you are interested in participating, please contact the office and leave your name and email address. If you want Abby to order a book for you, let her know at that time. The cost is about $14. The deadline to sign up is Monday, September 11.  

The 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, the Grief Group meets from 6:30-8pm in the church library. This is a drop in, Education and Support group. You may come as often as you like. Kris Simon, a Registered Nurse with a Master’s Degree in Counseling, facilitates the group. She is also trained as a Stephen Minister. Kris has 14 years of experience working in hospice, initially as a hospice nurse and then as a grief counselor. Throughout her work in hospice, Kris has provided individual grief counseling in addition to facilitating a variety of grief support groups. Kris is passionate about grief support groups after years of observing directly the benefits to those attending. For more information contact the church office.   

 We meet on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month.  We meet in person at the Wesley house and have others join us via zoom at the same time.  We craft prayer shawls, pocket prayer shawls, baby blankets for baptisms, and hats.  The hats we donate to the Sun Prairie Schools every Fall.   We have also donated blankets to the UW-NICU and every year we enjoy crafting prayer shawls for confirmands.

We have many years of experience in our group and are always willing to share if you are interested in learning how to knit and/or crochet.  Or maybe you would like to brush up on your skills?  The second Monday is designed for just such sharing of our knowledge.  On the fourth Monday we include devotional readings and prayers as we continue to work on our various projects.  New members are always welcome and thanks to many generous donations over the years, we have plenty of supplies such as yarn, needles, hooks, and patterns to get you started!

 If you would like more information, please contact Kathy Wessel at buffwes@msn.com. 

The Saturday Morning Men’s Group meets at the conference room at the church. We start at 8:00 a.m. and are usually done about 9:00 a.m.  There are currently twelve men in the group.  We start with a check-in on how our week was.  Next, we discuss our current book study, sharing what was meaningful to us. Approximately 50minutes into the hour we share our prayer requests/concerns/joys to be mindful of during the coming week.   We trust each other to maintain confidentiality in our sharing. We end with a closing prayer.  Once a year we try to get to a Brewers game for a fun social event.  Please contact the church office for more information.

Men in Mission  is a men’s group that meets to work  on mission projects and helping out those in need.  We also meet socially a couple times a year for dinner. Days/Nights vary, so you can help out with a project if you are available.   If you are interested in this group, please contact Deb Mulhern.

The M and M (short for Mary and Martha) small group is for women who desire to grow spiritually through study and discussion in a positive, encouraging environment. 

In the upcoming months we will study the second season of the video, “The Chosen”, scenarios of Jesus’ life will be viewed on your own (free online) with its companion workbook (purchased by each attendee) completed. 

Meetings are discussions led by group volunteers. Confidentiality is necessary as we grow through conversation and prayer requests.

This group meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month from September through May from  6:00-7:30 p.m.

Please call the church office if you are interested. We will contact new members with more information. 

The coordinators are volunteer church members:

Donna Cole, Brenda Carlson-Hahn, Marcia Flaherty

Sunday mornings Sept-May at 9:45 am

This group will be an informal, conversational group where we can support each other as experience the joys and challenges of raising kids. Each week we will pick an article or topic to discuss. We will also spend time sharing our own experiences. We will meet in the Library. No registration required—join us when you can! 

The  Lady Walkers walk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons at 1:30.  They walk various trails and parks throughout Dane County and beyond.  For more information or to join this group please contact the church office.