http://www.ctucc.org/ News from the Connecticut Conference United Church of Christ en-us Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:56:42 -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=816 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090627_synodday1.html The twenty-seventh biennial gathering of the United Church of Christ began on Friday, June 26th, in a setting dominated by a pool and waterfall at the center of the stage in the DeVos Place in this western Michigan city. Mayor George Heartwell -- and ordained UCC minister -- assured delegates "You are creating in the midst of our city a holy place, and we will never be the same." Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:56:42 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=815 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090626_synod.html The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan, welcomes approximately 3,500 United Church of Christ pastors, leaders, youth, and staff members from across the country to the denomination's biennial gathering. The business of the church will be marked with worship of depth, joy, and creativity; local service projects; stirring keynotes; and the sharing of a family gathering. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:45:26 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=814 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090626_thesetimesriverton.html New programs are often born of necessity, wrought in the turmoil of misfortune. In the village of Riverton, a program exists to support those with increased needs in our troubled times, but the program is more than 20 years old. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:43:34 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=813 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090626_slccgolf.html The 3rd Annual Silver Lake Golf Tournament to benefit Silver Lake Conference Center was held Tuesday June 9 at Lyman Orchards. Despite a rainy start, 81 players teed-off on the club's Gary Player Course, marking the tournament's largest turnout to date. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:42:26 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=812 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090622_wanttobe.html Kids are often asked what they want to be when they grow up. It's a difficult question for inexperienced minds, but they answer with enthusiasm. Oddly, adults are rarely asked what they want to be. One assumes we have already chosen a path. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:40:46 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=811 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090617_contact.html As United Church News prepares to publish its last issue on paper, due out in September, the Connecticut Conference has announced publication plans for the remainder of 2009, and the implementation of a more extensive research program to guide its media production into 2010 and beyond. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:00:58 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=810 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090617_readinglist.html The Annual Meeting Planning Committee, preparing for an inspiring experience of a Sacred Conversation on Race at October's Fall Session, has assembled a reading and viewing list of titles to give some helpful added foundation to the discussion. The Fall Session, to be held at the new Middletown High School Friday and Saturday October 23rd and 24th, will dedicate significant time to the Sacred Conversation, in hopes that authorized ministers, delegates, and other church leaders will be better able to facilitate dialogue in their own settings. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:27:21 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=788 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_craigville.html The "Spirituality and the Holy Spirit" conference will be held at the Craigville Conference Center on Cape Cod, Mass., July 13-17. The five day event will focus on the restoration of ancient spiritual practices in Protestant and evangelical churches. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:30:13 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=789 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_dfc_anxious.html These are times of great challenge. Within the United Church of Christ, our members face uncertainty and anxiety in differing ways. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:31:53 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=790 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_zimbabwe.html My son Jamie and I just returned from a visit to southern Africa, including a week in Zimbabwe. We were hosted by the Rev. Edward Matuvhunye, President of the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe, In a rural area on the southeastern border near Mozambique, we visited Mt. Selinda, a United Church of Christ facility consisting of a hospital, orphanage, high school, primary school, nursing school, and church. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:33:23 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=791 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_uccuconn.html Over Spring Break 2009, 16 University of Connecticut students and 2 adults from UCC UConn, a group associated with the Storrs Congregational Church UCC, traveled to Slidell, Louisiana to do hurricane relief work. The trip included a lot of manual labor, a tour of the devastated areas of New Orleans, the consumption of alligator and fried catfish, a side trip to Gulfport, Mississippi for a quick swim, a surprise concert by the African Children's Choir, and, of course, fantastic fellowship. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:34:42 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=792 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_transitions.html Pastoral transitions which have been reported to the Connecticut Conference. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:35:54 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=793 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_thesetimes.php These Times is a special series of reports on these efforts to minister to and with those affected by the economic crisis. In the first stories, a support group provides unemployed persons in Branford with a place of understanding and caring, and jobseekers in Windsor receive free employment coaching from seasoned professionals. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:37:24 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=794 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_springmtg.html Saturday, May 9th, 2009 can be described as nothing short of powerful, from the poignant early morning Procession of Prayer Shawls to the plain, honest words of one attendee at the day's end: "These spring meetings are starting to be goose bump times." Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:40:29 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=795 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_spirit.html We all need to be loved. Children, adults, spouses, friends, partners, caregivers, co-workers, all of creation, need to know love and to experience love. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:41:37 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=796 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_slccspring.html Maple Sugar weekend, the Women's Yoga retreat, Action, and some busy volunteers have made Silver Lake's spring an active and fulfilling one! Enjoy some photos from the Conference's summer camp and year-round retreat center. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:42:59 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=797 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_robertson.html James K. Robertson, a member of the First Congregational Church of Watertown UCC for over thirty years and the newly elected Moderator of the Connecticut Conference, has been nominated as Moderator of General Synod XXVII, to be held June 26-30 in Grand Rapids, MI. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:44:10 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=798 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_recovery.html The devil is always in the details. The recent American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) confirms that old saw again. Signed into law on February 17th by President Obama, the Act was intended to benefit those especially affected by our economic downturn. As is often the case, the least and the last continue to be the least and the last, for a key provision to mandate inclusion was omitted from the legislation. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:45:49 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=799 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_nuevacosecha.html On March 29th, 2009, the Hartford Association welcomed its newest member to the Connecticut Conference: La Nueva Cosecha, 14 Oliver Street, Hartford, became the 245th church with full standing. La Nueva Cosecha's pastor, the Rev. Jose Felipe Santiago, shares the story. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:47:45 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=800 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_mexico.html Hola Amigos! Come with me south of the border to Oaxaca, the poorest state in Mexico, with a population of 3.5 million people. We'll be traveling with 23 high school youth and 6 adults on the 2009 Silver Lake International Mission Trip. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:49:32 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=801 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_fallmtgkeynote.html The Rev. Geoffrey Black, the nominee for the next General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, will be the featured keynote speaker at the Fall Session of the Connecticut Conference Annual Meeting, to be held at the Middletown High School on Friday and Saturday, October 23rd and 24th. This will be Rev. Black's first appearance to a UCC Conference following his election by General Synod in June. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:51:18 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=802 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_freshed_converse.html In a recent meeting, I heard something exciting (not something that always happens in meetings). Part of me wanted to hit my head and cry "Doh!" at my abject failure to have considered it before, and another part of me simply marveled at its simultaneous simplicity and profound depth: "Communication does not take place until it has gone both ways." Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:53:21 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=803 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_godunhappy.html As we were pulling away, the Reverend says in English, "God is not happy. Much blood was shed here." Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:55:18 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=804 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_greenchurch.html At a "Greening Our Church" workshop held at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford on March 14th, Baptist minister the Rev. Tom Carr told the gathering of North Central Region UCC churches that today's prophetic voice is coming from the world of science, warning us of the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming due to greenhouse gases produced by human activity. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:56:52 -0500 http://www.ctucc.org/news.php?story=805 http://www.ctucc.org/news/20090601_ct0906_index.php This month's issue features the Spring Session of the Annual Meeting and its focus on Health and Healing, welcomes a new congregation to the United Church of Christ, follows international mission efforts in Mexico and Zimbabwe, and celebrates the Fall Conference Meeting's keynoter: UCC General Minister and President nominee Geoffrey Black. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:57:43 -0500