http://www.ctucc.org/ News from the Connecticut Conference United Church of Christ en-us Wed, 16 May 2012 13:45:00 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/images/favicon.ico http://www.ctucc.org/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 webmaster@ctucc.org (Eric Anderson) webmaster@ctucc.org (Eric Anderson) http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1614 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120516_raeburnmemoriam.html The Rev. Craig "Scott" N. Raeburn, who served Connecticut Conference churches in New London, Taftville, Norwich, and Riverton, and a long-time dean of summer conferences at Silver Lake Conference Center, died on Saturday, May 12th. He was 74. Wed, 16 May 2012 13:45:00 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1613 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120514_springmtg.html Two weeks before their own Pentecost celebrations, delegates and ministers from around the Connecticut Conference gathered at Suffield High School and gave thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. In a profoundly moving service at the Conference's Spring Meeting, voices murmured, wind and thunder rumbled, and a tongue of fire leapt up in praise, before the hundreds of worshipers came forward to lay aside their obsession with perfection and partake of the broken bread. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:31:00 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1612 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120514_youthrevival.html On Friday, May 11, over two hundred youth and adults, young and old, gathered at the Liberty Christian Center in Hartford for the Second Annual Youth Revival of the Connecticut Conference. The exuberant evening worship celebrated many reasons why church matters through prayer, songs, personal testimony, and dance. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:38 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1609 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120509_searchcmte.html The Conference Minister Search Committee issued a new progress report today, considering some further issues that had emerged during their listening efforts last fall, and looking forward to the steps that lie immediately ahead. "We are actively making our way through the final weeks of phase one of our search process," wrote committee chair the Rev. Gordon Rankin. They expect to present a professionally prepared conference profile to the Board of Directors in June for their review and approval. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:37 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1610 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120509_ctwomen.html Connecticut Women of the UCC held their annual meeting on April 28 at the Orange Congregational Church UCC. Outgoing President Jennifer Peterson welcomed the assembly, which filled much of the church meetinghouse, and introduced keynote speaker Melina Rudman. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:36 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1611 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120509_ncli.html The Center for Progressive Renewal has announced Praxis21: Practicing Progressive Christianity in the 21st Century as the theme for its annual New Church Leadership Institute (NCLI) to be held August 8-10, 2012. Created six years ago, NCLI features world-class church planting and renewal experts within the progressive church, and is one of the main programs of the Center for Progressive Renewal (CPR). The conference will be held in Decatur, Georgia. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:35 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1608 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120509_ofnerseals.html Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals was called to serve as senior pastor at Park Congregational in Norwich in September 2011, ending a intermittent journey eastward from Davenport, Iowa. From Iowa to Illinois to Boston, Ofner-Seals seems to have been drawn gradually to the east coast. Yet a detour west to Los Angeles helped Ofner-Seals find her path to ministry. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:33 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1607 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120507_healthcare.html The Health Insurance Exchange fix bill (House Bill 5013), which passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives last week and which will add consumer and small business voices to the Health Insurance Exchange Board, has become victim to all the competing tensions and power plays at the Capitol. "It's a great bill," said the Christian Activities Council's Health Care Organizer, Michele Mudrick, "a real step forward in shifting the balance of power from insurance companies to people, which is a key part of health reform." Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:30 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1606 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120507_hungerwalk.html Organizers believe over 5,000 area residents put one foot in front of the other on Sunday afternoon, raising over $544,000 for their neighbors who are vulnerable to hunger. "Yesterday's Walk Against Hunger was great," said Foodshare President and CEO Gloria J. McAdam in a blog post this morning. The initial count was $6,000 higher than at the end of last year's walk, and McAdam hopes that late arriving donations will help Foodshare achieve its $600,000 goal. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:28 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1604 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120502_rcms.html Based on reporting from houses of worship themselves, just under half of Americans participate in a community of faith, according to a 2010 study released yesterday. Researchers presented a summary report of the 2010 U.S. Religious Census: Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) at the annual conference of the Associated Church Press in Chicago yesterday, a county-by-county survey of American religious bodies, continuing the efforts originally launched by the National Council of Churches in 1952, and considerably expanding the range of faith traditions surveyed for 2010. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:24 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1602 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120427_healthcare.html Two hundred state residents came to the Capitol on Wednesday, according to organizers, meeting with legislators and raising their voices over excessive compensation for an insurance executive. They had good news early in the afternoon, when they learned that the House of Representatives had passed a bill adding four additional seats to the Health Insurance Exchange Board and giving a vote to the state's Healthcare Advocate, Victoria Veltri. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:22 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1601 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120427_fourregions.html The Connecticut Conference's regional ministry staff will be reduced from five to four beginning on June first, said Interim Conference Minister the Rev. Charles L. Wildman today. He made the decision "after careful consultation, deliberation, and prayer," in the face of a persistent decline in contributions to Conference and national ministries over many years. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:21 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1592 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_index.php In an age when there are more who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious" than mainline Protestants, does Church still matter? In this issue of ConnTact, both church people and not-church people take up the question. Their backgrounds, experiences, and even their conclusions vary, but overall they have a clear sense that the community of faith can, does, or should make a difference in the world. Wed, 09 May 2012 11:57:15 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1597 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120425_douglas.html The Rev. Mia Douglas, who has served since fall as the Connecticut Conference's Coordinator for Sacred Conversations on Race, has announced her resignation. Douglas' duties at Hartford's Faith Congregational Church UCC have expanded, and she will now be able to dedicate herself more fully to that ministry. Her last day with the Conference will be May 1. Wed, 09 May 2012 11:56:08 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1598 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120425_giv2thompson.html TEEG (Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group) is in its 25th year of providing support services to families in the small communities of Northeast Connecticut. Over the years, its programs and its service area have expanded from its Thompson roots, to the point that they needed new office, program, storage, and multi-use space to accommodate their food distribution, fuel assistance, income tax preparation, parenting education, and youth services. Rising on land donated by the town, they have proudly constructed it "the TEEG way," in partnership with many community organizations including, on April 15th, the Northeast Chapter of Giv2, the Connecticut Conference's youth in service ministry. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:14 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1599 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120425_greenteams.html Around thirty people from all over Connecticut, environmental leaders in their congregations and communities, assembled at the South Congregational Church UCC in Middletown on the Saturday of Earth Day weekend to share their stories and successes, to pick up new ideas and new information to bring home, and to take new inspiration for the crucial work of preserving a living planet. Both practical and emotional resources flew back and forth in a day of involved discussion, workshop presentations, and lunchtime conversations. Mon, 14 May 2012 19:29:17 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1600 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120425_taxes.html The Rev. Jon Zappulla serves Bunker Hill Congregational Church UCC in Waterbury, but for some years he has also worked as a tax professional with HR Block. Some of his colleagues have recently reported that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) auditors have begun to require additional documentation before validating charitable contribution deductions to churches. Wed, 09 May 2012 11:57:23 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1596 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120424_touchstones_constitution.html Why is Connecticut known as the Constitution State? Actually, it was declared that by the state General Assembly in 1959 because the 1639 Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is considered to be the first written constitution in the colonies. In that year, pastor Thomas Hooker of Hartford and other leaders drafted a contract or covenant to govern the affairs of the Connecticut River towns of the colony. Mon, 07 May 2012 15:23:40 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1593 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120418_somers.html Four months after fire destroyed the oldest portions of the Somers Congregational Church United Church of Christ's building, including its 170-year-old meetinghouse, the smell of fresh paint has replaced the odor of smoke in the Bugbee Center. Sunday School classrooms have new tables and chairs, and the stained glass and murals in the chapel have been cleaned. For the first time since the fire, the April 15th community supper was held in the congregation's own facility. The Champ's Place food pantry is moving back in from temporary quarters across the street. Mon, 07 May 2012 15:23:31 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1576 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_thecost.html Hard work, long day... a poem about the soldiers at the crucifixion. Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:32:12 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1577 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_springmtg.php Last September, 363 words launched a torrent of commentary, after the Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel's StillSpeaking Daily Devotional "Spiritual but Not Religious? Please Stop Boring Me" appeared on UCC.org. In blogs, on social networks, in sermons, in conversations, believers and non-believers alike took up the question: In an age of spiritual individualism, does religious community matter? Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:27:35 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1578 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_slcc.html We hear it time and again from our conferees, staff, and counselors: "At Silver Lake, I can be myself." What we don't hear as often is how important being accepted for who you are is to faith formation. And sometimes the work that our staff and volunteers do to provide that experience to young people is not explicitly recognized. Mon, 07 May 2012 15:23:36 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1579 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_shelton.html Shelton Congregational Church UCC is giving up more for Lent than most would care to imagine. They are giving up their sanctuary. The building is for sale, but the church's future is uncertain. Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:25:12 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1580 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_scal_justice.html I don't remember the first time I heard Amos 5:24, but I do know that I wasn't thinking about an actual river. I am sure that I was a child and I thought of rivers as free flowing and smooth bodies of water. As I aged, I learned that some rivers are violent. I also learned that flowing waters change the land around them. Pushing at their original boundaries, sometimes shrinking, and other times growing. Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:30:06 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1581 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_sacredmusic.html Music is a perpetual source of societal tension. Older generations love to complain about the newest sounds. Parents fret over increasingly lewd lyrics. Record companies sue over music sharing. Even in church, we debate what types of music are appropriate in worship. Wed, 02 May 2012 09:10:11 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1582 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_prayerpagers.html Late 2009 and early 2010 were difficult for Rich Grudzias. In November, his mother died. He suffered strokes in January and April, which left him with some weakness in his right arm and leg, and he lost the peripheral vision in one eye. He underwent physical therapy, and is now much improved. Wed, 02 May 2012 09:10:14 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1583 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_mean.html Last fall, the Rev. Shannon Wall asked members of the South Britain Congregational Church UCC to speak about what the church means to them. Excerpted here are portions of what two people said about the importance of their church and the faith community to which they belong. Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:31:08 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1584 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_insearch.html Wondering why church matters, CTUCC Media Assistant Drew Page interviewed a former member of a UCC church in Connecticut who no longer attends church regularly. Dr. Amanda Goodwin, a lecturer at Pennsylvania State University, meets instead with a small group of friends for a theological discussion. Here are the insights on church matters from a seeker's point of view. Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:27:30 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1585 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_grappling.html I was new to the church, actually still in the visiting phase, when Pastor Kate (associate pastor the Rev. Kate VanDerzee-Glidden) approached me. "Hey there, Lorie, glad to see you again -- listen, I was wondering if you might like to join us for our Women's Theological Reflection Group next Wednesday? We meet at 8:00 in the morning here at the church." Theological Reflection Group? Eight AM? Ummmm... Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:32:16 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1586 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_fullyabled.html I was "un-churched" for over 25 years. During those years I developed a very personal and spiritual relationship with God. No rituals. No dogma. No creed. Just the two of us. But as I got older, I felt drawn to be in a church community, partly for companionship and partly to share my faith with others. I wanted to learn more about the Bible and Jesus, and I wanted to find a place where I can best serve God. Wed, 02 May 2012 09:10:04 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1587 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_freshed_makeitmatter.html It's only page two, and I'm going to end the suspense: Church matters to all of the writers in this issue of ConnTact. Their reasons -- the why of why Church matters -- aren't terribly different from one to the next, either. It comes down to two things, by and large: (1) Church provides a grounding in the faith, in the foundational conviction that God loves us, and (2) Church gathers a circle of people who embody, display, and reinforce the love of God with their own. When we do those two things, Church matters. Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:26:59 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1588 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_clw_matters.html When dawn's early light revealed the charred remains of what had been the historic sanctuary of the Somers Congregational Church UCC, the entire community was shocked in disbelief. For miles around, people came to keep silent vigil: the curious, the heartbroken, the disbelieving. The grieving of hundreds, even thousands, revealed the meaning of the congregation to its community. Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:35:54 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1589 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_canteach.html "Hope is not a strategy" is a saying that I have often heard in my professional life. One immediately recognizes the truth of this statement; that simply wishing for something will not make it happen. On the surface, this saying also appears to be dismissive of the importance of hope. Yet, upon reflection, one realizes this is not necessarily the case. Hope is critical in all important endeavors. As I have witnessed as a member of the Congregational Church in South Glastonbury, there are many different kinds of hope. Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:51:30 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1590 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_beyondmotions.html When I was younger, I was just going through the motions. Every Sunday, I'd get dressed up and attend Sunday school. I'd read the passages in my beginner's Bible, accompanied by many colorful illustrations. I memorized the Lord's Prayer, and recited it on cue. I followed the practices, but there was no meaning in anything I did. Wed, 02 May 2012 09:10:07 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1591 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20120417_ct1204_beloved.html The Mercy Center at Madison welcomes people of diverse faiths and backgrounds to a peaceful place of natural beauty for personal, spiritual, and professional renewal and growth. Most visitors to Mercy will tell you that when they turn into the driveway, they take a deep breath and the presence of the Divine is palpable. Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:51:35 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=1475 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20111206_friendofconference.html "Our churches make a huge difference in people's lives. Our Conference makes a similar difference in the lives of our churches. You are the key to their future." So wrote the Rev. Charles L. Wildman in the 2011 Friends of the Conference appeal, sent to generous spirits and church leaders throughout Connecticut, asking their support for the Conference's continued ministry. Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:13:05 -0500