Welcome to the Connecticut Conference!

Breaking News! The Rev. Kent Siladi has been Elected Connecticut Conference Minister

Called to Lead: the Rev. Kent Siladi from CTUCC.

ConferenceCast 125: 5/16/2013: Video Edition

"Focused on the Fire": Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Weekly Reflection from The Spirit Calendar

Knowing Mystery, by Karen Ziel

News and Announcements

In Monroe: Confirmed in Hope

MONROE -- For some years, confirmands at the Monroe Congregational Church UCC have completed their work together with a project: a personal expression of their own faith and relationship with God. No subject was set, no particular direction given, but when the young people presented their creations -- which included baked goods, photo displays, a hand-crafted glowing cross, and even cakes! -- a common theme emerged: Declarations of hope. 05/22/2013

In Memoriam: the Rev. Dr. Roger L. Shinn

SOUTHBURY -- The Rev. Dr. Roger Lincoln Shinn, theologian, educator, and the author of the United Church of Christ's Statement of Faith, died in Southbury on May 13, 2013. He was Reinhold Niebuhr professor emeritus of social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he served as acting president in 1974 to 1975. He was 96. 05/22/2013

CTUCC Delegates Consider Issues to be Decided by General Synod

HAMDEN -- The Connecticut Conference will send fifty-one delegates, plus some Conference staff to support them, to this summer's twenty-ninth General Synod of the United Church of Christ, running June 28th through July 2nd in Long Beach, California. They will consider a wide range of issues, including resolutions on climate change, ministry to veterans, support for outdoor ministry, immigration, and the full participation of women in church and society. They will also have the power to approve the budget for the national setting of the UCC and elect some of its officers whose terms are ending. 05/21/2013

Conference Calls for Prayer and Aid after Oklahoma Tornado

HARTFORD -- Yesterday morning our Spirit Calendar weekly devotional included a prayer request for those left injured, grieving, or homeless because of severe weather and tornadoes in the Midwest. Then last night another, fiercer storm devastated Moore, Oklahoma. We are once again aghast at the power of the elements, and aware of the fragility of human life. 05/21/2013

Opinion: Waking Up to the Brave New World of Genetic Engineering

NEW HAVEN -- Day-glo fish and trees, tomatoes with built in vaccines, goat's milk used to produce bulletproof body armor? These are the latest miracles that the biotech industry is offering the world. We have entered a Brave New World in which humans truly have become co-creators with God, creating new forms of life! Some of this experimentation may lead to human flourishing, but some may not. 05/21/2013

Celebrating, Educating, Transitioning, and Giving

NEW HAVEN -- Friday evening brought joyful music, inspiring words, and great generosity to Dixwell Avenue United Church of Christ in New Haven on May 17th, when the Connecticut Conference's Minority Empowerment Committee gathered the conference's traditionally African-American congregations for worship. The service celebrated the award of nine scholarships to young people bound for college, raised over $4,000 for the committee Scholarship Fund, and honored the forty-year ministry of the Rev. Dr. Joseph D. Clemmons, Sr., as he retires from Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ UCC in Norwalk. 05/20/2013

New Minister Profile: Rev. Damaris Whittaker

HARTFORD -- First Church of Christ in Hartford, known as Center Church, has a rich history. After all, this was the church that first called Thomas Hooker to be its pastor and move to Hartford in 1636. As the current pastor of Center Church, Rev. Damaris Whittaker takes a leadership role in a church with equally rich traditions of diversity and community service. 05/20/2013

Saugatuck Youth "Shine" in Story Tent

WESTPORT -- Saugatuck Congregational Church celebrated Pentecost Sunday with a youth worship featuring a dramatic performance titled "Let It Shine, Let It Shine, Let It Shine." The play, written and produced by the 7th and 8th graders and their teachers, was the 14th annual production of the Story Tent Players. 05/20/2013

Old Lyme Calls Steven R. Jungkeit as New Senior Minister

OLD LYME -- The members of The First Congregational Church UCC of Old Lyme, announced the call of the Rev. Steven R. Jungkeit as their new Senior Minister following a "candidating" service on May 12 in which he delivered the sermon. This vote followed the United Church of Christ procedure in which the members cast a vote of affirmation on their senior ministers. 05/17/2013

Kathleen Cunliffe Ordained in Joy

PLANTSVILLE -- It was a joyous day for two congregations of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ -- Plantsville Congregational UCC and the First Congregational Church UCC of Bristol -- when the Rev. Kathleen T. Cunliffe was ordained on Sunday, April 21. 05/17/2013

Conference Announces Crossroads Grants for Small Churches

HARTFORD -- The Connecticut Conference UCC announced today the availability of grants to small churches through the Crossroads Fund. The purpose of these grants is to support the needs of small churches facing financial and membership challenges that may impact the future of the congregation. The Crossroads Fund was established through gifts from the First United Church of Christ in Bridgeport. 05/14/2013

Milford First Young People Bring the Miracles of Jesus to Video

MILFORD -- They were not content to rest on their laurels and their rave reviews. Fourth and fifth graders at the First United Church of Christ Congregational in Milford's have just released a new three-and-a-half minute video depiction of some of the miracles of Jesus. Christ's love and care for all people -- not just the wealthy, popular, or powerful -- shines clearly in their version. 05/13/2013

Youth Declare at 3rd Annual Youth Revival

BRIDGEPORT -- The 3rd Annual Youth Revival was held at the United Congregational Church in Bridgeport on Friday. Youth and adults gathered from around the state for worship and to celebrate their own declarations of faith. 05/13/2013

CWS Appeals Urgently for Emergency Cleanup Buckets

NEW WINDSOR, MD -- As the 2,500th CWS Emergency Cleanup Bucket arrived yesterday in flood-ravaged Illinois, Church World Service appealed urgently for people to replenish its rapidly dwindling supply. Heavy precipitation from early 2013 storms and floods has resulted in widespread and severe flooding in Illinois and other states. 05/08/2013

Why We Can't Wait: Launching the Environmental Justice Center at Silver Lake

SHARON -- Now is the time. As our UCC environmental leaders (including the large CTUCC contingent) all over the country proclaimed at the Leaders in Koinonia (LinK) event in Cleveland recently, climate change is the "container" issue of our time. It is our call to action as people of faith, and our mission as stewards of God's Creation and of Outdoor Ministry. Accordingly, we are pleased to announce the Environmental Justice Center at Silver Lake. 05/06/2013

ConnTact Online: April, 2013 -- Mission 4/1 Earth

HARTFORD -- Sky overhead. Earth below. Living things around us. Stone and sand and soil. This is the stuff that makes our planet so precious and so blessed. In this issue of ConnTact, we tell the stories of Connecticut Conference churches and people caring for God's good Earth. 04/12/2013

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