Wrong Church!

By The Rev. Timoth Sylvia, Senior Minister at Newman Congregational Church UCC in Rumford, RI.

Recently, we received an email at the church from someone whom we’ve never met. It shared a note of thanksgiving for our church’s openness in playing a role in the burial of the author’s brother. It was a genuinely heartfelt note… and it was sent to the wrong church.

She had given us her brother’s name so I searched and searched to find any information I could, only to come up empty. Not only were we not holding a funeral service at Newman UCC for her brother… we had no idea who he was.

And to complicate things, the mystery man’s sister had made a substantial financial gift to our church through our online giving option on our website.

We weren’t burying her brother.

We aren’t the church she was thinking of.

And now we have all of this money that she gave to us thinking we were someone else.

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Farewell from Sandy Tremblay

By Sandy Tremblay, former RICUCC Administrative Assistant

So it's been a little over three weeks since my farewell gathering at The Rev. Kathy Henry's beautiful home and my exit from the Rhode Island Conference staff. I just wanted to say THANK YOU for so many blessings. Thank you to all who came out for my Farewell Gathering. It was so wonderful to see everyone! It was a very impressive turnout for sure. Many of you spoke about our time together and every kind and loving word has been seared into my heart. Thank you for all the thoughtful gifts, for the wonderful food, the amazing conversations and of course for the purse collected to help me in my transition between RICUCC and my next adventure. A special thank you to Kathy Henry for opening up her gorgeous home to host this for me. Thank you to all involved in the planning and again, for those who set up the purse collection for me for me.

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Many Voices, One Mission: The Sometimes Difficult, Always Important, Evolution of Language

By Tiffany Vail, Associate Conference Minister of Communication for the CT, MA, and RI Conferences, UCC

Language – and the evolution of language – is a fascinating thing. It can also be a frustrating and difficult thing. Because change is never easy.

I’m a journalist by training, having worked as a newspaper reporter before beginning in Conference communication more than 20 years ago. As a journalist, it was considered of utmost importance to use the proper rules when writing, for consistency and clarity. The Associated Press Stylebook is the “Bible” of newsrooms – the go to place when it comes to questions regarding proper use of titles, capitalization, etc. We each had one on our desk.

A new edition of the AP Stylebook is published every, single year. Why? Because language is changing so quickly.

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Many Voices, One Mission is a regular series highlighting the ministries of the CT, MA, and RI Conference of the United Church of Christ.

The Offices Have Moved!

The Rhode Island Conference has moved to the Edgewood Congregational Church, 1788 Broad St., Cranston, RI 02905

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Upcoming Conference Events

A Service of Welcomes
Sept. 30, 4:30 PM
Edgewood Congregational Church
Come welcome new Transitional Conference Minister, the Rev. Marilyn B. Kendrix, and let the Conference welcome you to the new Conference offices at the Edgewood Church.

Boundary Training
Oct. 11, 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Seekonk Congregational UCC, Seekonk, RI
Authorized clergy of the Rhode Island Conference are required to attend Boundary Training every three years in order to maintain their standing.

Autumn Youth Event: Music & More!
Oct. 12, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Seekonk Congregational UCC, Seekonk, RI
Youth (6th-12th grade) are invited to an evening of Faith, Food, Fun and Friends! There will be pizza, a pumpkin project, a youth concert and a special guest speaker on teen anxiety & stress, Fee $5

Retired Ministers Luncheon and the Ministerial Assistance Fund Trustees meeting
Oct. 17, 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM
Newman Congregational Church, Rumford, RI

Super Saturday
Oct. 20, 8:00 AM - 3:45 PM
Keefe Regional Technical High School, Framingham, MA
Join us for a full day of worship, workshops and networking. Keynote address by Dr. David M. Csinos, who writes widely about faith formation, children's ministry, youth ministry, and culture.

Rhode Island Conference Autumnal Meeting 2018
Nov. 3, 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM
First Congregational Church UCC, Bristol, RI

Bus Trip to Visit 2 Rhode Island Churches
Nov. 8, 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Join the Seekonk Congregational Church, UCC Woman's Group and the Rev. Dr. H. Daehler Hayes, RI Conference Minister Emeritus, to visit Central Congregational UCC in Providence and Slatersville Congregational UCC with a stop at Wright's Farm for lunch.

Classifieds

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Other Events Of Interest

Visit with Rev. Dr. Gordon Ellis
The Rev. Dr. Gordon Ellis is coming to Seekonk Congregational Church Oct. 13th and 14th! Join the church for a special Dinner and Spiritual Concert by Rev. Dr. Ellis on Saturday evening, October 13th.
Rev. Dr. Ellis will also be joining us for Sunday Services on Sunday morning, October 14th at 9:00 and 10:30 AM.

Beneficent Congregational Church 275th Anniversary Celebration

Gala 275th Anniversary Concert on Saturday, October 20. at 7 PM. Special music provided by the Beneficent Choir with guest choirs, RPM Voices and Providence Gay Men's Chorus and guest musicians.
Home Coming Worship Service on Sunday, October 21 at 10 AM. Special music provided by the Beneficent Choir, Youth Violin Group, RPM Voices, Providence Gay Men's Chorus and guest musician

UCC W.I.S.E. Conference for Mental Health
Sept. 29
South Congregational Church, UCC, Andover, MA
Learn about action steps for individuals and congregations to become WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive and Engaged) about mental health.

Widening the Welcome
Nov. 1-3
Niagara Falls Convention Center, Niagara, NY
Workshops and panels; invited speakers include Traci Blackmon, Sarah Lund, Jennifer Brownell, and keynote speaker John C. Dorhauer, UCC General Minister and President.

Tending the Fire
Nov. 6-8; Jan. 8-10; March 12-14
Framingham, MA & Sharon, CT
This series of retreats helps clergy “think systems” in their congregations and their personal lives, so they can lead change that lasts.

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