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| Kent Siladi |
In this historic 50th year of the United Church of Christ your Regional Ministers give thanks for the privilege that has been ours to serve among you in the five Regions of the Connecticut Conference. It has been a very full year both in the life of the Conference and the life of the respective congregations and Associations where we serve.
We work with local congregations around a whole host of issues. We are present to churches during transitions in pastoral leadership. We are invited into local churches to help nurture and foster leadership, to offer insight and advice around a wide variety of topics and to participate in the celebrations of local church life. We preach, we teach, we consult and we offer a perspective that brings into account our work with other congregations. However, this relationship is not a one-way relationship and we have learned much from the churches with whom we are blessed to work. Here is some of what we’ve learned about the things that local congregations value.
Churches value the intersection of faith and daily life. Churches find relevance in teachings that equip them to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their everyday world. From our baptisms forward, the local church nurtures a faith that expresses itself in the world.
Churches value people and the importance of community. Time and time again we witness the importance of church members “being there” for one another. In joys and in sorrows, in times of prosperity and in times of scarcity – there is a bond in Christ that runs deep. In a culture that stresses the importance of the individual, the emphasis of the church is on the community, the greater good, the “we” instead of the “I”.
Churches value history. A congregation is a bundle of stories, stories that begin with those in Scripture and then move outwards to the stories of the church and its own history. The history of a particular church is so important to understanding the present context. We are keepers of a tradition and our corporate histories are critical to our understanding of who God calls us to be as local churches.
Churches value mission and ministry. The church exists for mission. We are sent out to proclaim the Gospel to the world and our local churches serve as the place where God’s mission is carried out in our local communities, our state, our nation and our world. We have seen the difference that churches make through the incarnation of their beliefs lived out in action. The Holy Spirit is alive and at work among our churches, equipping them for amazing things – both large and small – that make a difference.
We are so grateful for the opportunities we have had this past year to learn from the congregations with whom we work and minister. The local church is the springboard of vitality in the United Church of Christ and we have been blessed to work with you. Our covenantal connections have been strengthened by working together, and we pray that we might continue to grow in mutual respect and dedication to one another.
As I leave the Conference to answer a new call to ministry in the Florida Conference, I pray God’s blessings upon the Conference and in particular the Regional Ministers as they carry out their respective ministries among you. May God’s blessings be upon you.
