The Conference Celebrated

25/50 Years of Ordained Service

Two of our fifty year clergy On Friday afternoon, Conference Minister Davida Foy Crabtree and Minister to Retired Clergy Hugh Penney honored those ordained clergy who were celebrating their twenty-fifth or their fiftieth anniversary of ordination in 1999. Those ordained twenty-five years are:

Chester C. Copeland
Laurie W. Etter
Genia W. Haddon
Frank P. Haggard
Hartford C. Inlow
Mary-Lynn Ogletree
Richard C. Sears
Anthony P. Szilagyi, Jr.
John A. Thursby

Those ordained fifty years are:

Zdenek F. Bednar
J. Stanton Conover
Robert L. Edwards
Rafael Garcia-Mely
William L. Graffam
Ernest S. Heeren
John I. Samsvick
J. Gorman Smith III
Willard E. Thomen

The Visit of John Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ

The Rev. Dr. John Thomas, newly elected General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, attended the Friday and Saturday sessions of the Annual Meeting, and took part in many of its activities. He participated in the blessing of the Amistad on Saturday, blessing the quilt squares contributed by churches for the schooner's crew.

On Saturday evening he came forward to participate in a conversation with the delegates, when Conference Minister Davida Foy Crabtree interrupted him with a succession of special guests: old friends from his association with Connecticut churches in Stamford (his home town) and Cheshire, and, of course, Silver Lake Conference Center. Each speaker brought a gift to remind him of those ties, and the Conference presented him with a specially decorated Hitchcock chair, made in Riverton, Connecticut.

President Thomas then spoke about the state of the United Church of Christ and his vision for its future. He talked of the pain around the nomination process for the national officers, and of the surpassing grace of those whose nominations were not confirmed, particularly praising Hartford Seminary President Barbara Brown Zikmund, who had been nominated for the office he holds.

He lifted up his own vision of what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ. The church should be:

An evangelical church, one that understands the centrality of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection for its self-understanding.
An engaged church, which does not ignore or dismiss the needs of the world around it, but responds with love and compassion.
An ecumenical church, which builds peace and harmony with other local congregations and denominational structures.
An educated church, in which both laity and clergy know the Christian story, and are able to use that knowledge to develop their own relationship with God.
A eucharistic church, which values the sacrament of Holy Communion and celebrates it regularly.

The Ministry of Robbins and Margaret Barstow

Robbins and Margaret Barstow, members of the First Church of Christ of Wethersfield, received the Board of Director's second award for service by lay persons or organizations exemplifying United Church of Christ values in noteworthy service or leadership beyond the church. The Barstows have devoted their lives to making the world a better place for everyone and everything, especially children.

Their professional and volunteer activities have included working in a settlement house in New York Hell's Kitchen, teaching in the public schools and in Head Start, becoming involved in the Cetacean Society (which seeks to end the commercial killing of whales worldwide), and participating in the outreach programs of First Church.

Davida Foy Crabtree and Board Chair Jane Chittick presented the award on Saturday evening.

Photos of Every Church

On Friday evening, Hartford Seminary President the Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Zikmund made a special presentation to the Conference. Over her years of service in the state, her position has required a great deal of travel. On these journeys she brought her camera, and the result is a photograph of nearly every UCC church building in the Conference (the four omissions are due to damaged film and lack of opportunity). Dr. Zikmund formally presented the several volumes of photos, and historic data in their blue binders to Conference Minister Davida Foy Crabtree and Conference Historian Evans Sealand. She also showed a sampler of the collection in a brief slide presentation, revealing the variety of architecture in the state's church buildings.

The books are available in the Conference Archives, kept at 125 Sherman Street in Hartford, where the photos are organized by each congregation's UCC Yearbook number.

Four New Congregations

During 1999, four Connecticut churches joined the United Church of Christ. On Saturday morning, Conference Minister Davida Foy Crabtree and UCC President John Thomas introduced their representatives to the assembly and personally greeted and thanked them. The churches are: Imani in Windsor, New Fairfield, Old Lyme, and the new Korean church start.

Tithing and Step-Up Congregations

The some years ago, the Conference voted to recommend that every congregation give a tithe (10%) of their current operating (non-mission) expenses to Our Church's Wider Mission Basic Support, which is the primary way in which congregations provide unrestricted funds to the ministries of the Conference and national Church. Each year since then, the Conference has recognized those churches which have achieved that goal at Annual Meeting (the Tithing Churches), and recognized those who have increased their giving by one percentage point of current expenses or more over the previous year (the Step-Up Churches). A number of congregations were so honored this year, and received the applause of all the delegates.

The Congregational Café

The Conference celebrated its members' talents with a classic coffeehouse on Saturday night. Hosted and organized by the Rev. Drew Willard, the music ranged from folk/acoustic to classical to contemporary Christian to rock. Among the performers was Grammy-award-winning flautist Rhonda Larson.