banner
 

Conversations with the Conference Minister

Connecticut Conference Minister The Rev. Kent J. Siladi has begun hosting a series of live online conversations with religious leaders about timely topics impacting the church.

Recordings of previous conversations can be found here:
ctucc.org/live-conversations

The next conversation will be held tomorrow:

Live Online: Toxic Cisgender Ableist White Heteronormative Masculinity
February 8, 2019 at 1:30 PM

Dr. Alice W. Hunt, Executive Director of the American Academy of Religion, will talk about gender roles and specifically about what she refers to as: "toxic cisgender ableist white heteronormative masculinity."

Dr. Hunt will engage in the topic with The Rev Jack Perkins Davidson, The Rev. Kevin Ewing, The Rev. Erick Olsen and The Rev. Kenneth Peterkin, who have been working on the topic with Conference Minister The Rev. Kent Siladi.

Register to watch live or be notified when a recording is available


Starting With Scripture: We Must Move

By Sioux Wilusz, Executive Assistant to the Conference Minister for the CT Conference, UCC.

It’s February.  Time to kick it into gear!!! The new year has begun.  New resolutions were made.  New goals are ahead.  A new you is ready to go!!

And a new US! It promises to be a BUSY year in the CT, MA, and RI Conferences! Jesus is asking us for a “new church.”  We are soul searching and creating our WHY.  We will build new partnerships, cultivate existing ones, do the work in new ways, and re-envision our futures.  It’s a time of uncertainty, excitement, joy and change.  I’m eager, and exhausted and overwhelmed just thinking about it.

We are at the beginning. God is here. We will trust that and move forward.

We must not be motivated on our journey this coming year by what we can see.  We are map-less.  But we cannot stand still.

Read the full post

 

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

 


Starting With Scripture: Scary Fishing

By The Rev. Nicolette Siragusa, pastor of Bolton Congregational Church UCC, Bolton, CT

The fishermen know their business. They have probably been fishing the same way for a long time, methods passed down from generation to generation, in the same waters, once teeming with fish. Perhaps those safe, shallow waters have been over fished, or perhaps the particular fish they’re looking for have gone extinct, but their nets are coming up empty, and have been empty for a while. 
 
It’s not that we don’t know what we’re doing.  We know our business. We know how to worship, how to run Sunday School, how to raise money, how to facilitate a Bible study. We know how to fish these waters. We’ve been doing it for a long time.
 
But the waters have changed. 

Read the full post                    

Starting with Scripture is a weekly devotional written by current and former clergy and church leaders of the Connecticut Conference, UCC. Subscribe to receive the reflection each Monday at: ctucc.org/subscribe.


Conference Events

Simply Smiles Mission Trip - Oaxaca, Mexico
April 13 - 20
Spend a week helping the kids who live at the Simply Smiles home for children in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico

Simply Smiles Mission Trip - South Dakota
May 11 - 18
Spend at week Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation working to restore hope for a better future.


Youth Racial Justice Program
Feb. 15 - 16
Congregational Church in South Glastonbury, CT

Our goal is to unmask the covert forms of racism that live within our country, and shed light on information that is commonly unknown in the younger generation

TAWFG Apprenticeship Deadline
Feb. 15

Middle and high school youth, and college age young adults, are invited to apply for this job-shadow program.

Celebrating Faith Milestones: Connecting Generations in Joy
Feb. 28, 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Southington, CT

Come and explore ways to incorporate this meaningful faith formation activity into your ministry.

CTUCC Confirmation Retreats
March 1 - 3
April 5 - 7

Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon CT

Join us for a great experience with activities, worship, and fellowship appropriate for youth in grades 7-9 during their Confirmation year.

Super Saturday
March 16, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham, MA

Registration Now Open!  A full day of worship, workshops and networking with keynote by Rebekah Anderson.

Interfaith Exploration
March 31, 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

An exploration of the three Abrahamic Religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - designed for confirmation classes and youth groups.

Counselor Retreat at Silver Lake
April 12 - 13
Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon, CT

This retreat is open to all who will serve as counselors at Silver Lake, whether it’s your first time or your 20th time. 

2019 Special Meeting of the CT Conference
May 18, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
First Church of Christ Congregational in West Hartford

We will gather together as a historic Connecticut Conference in this transition year to worship, receive reports from Board and staff, consider resolutions, and celebrate the Living Waters award.

Save the Date: The first Annual Meeting of the newly formed Together, As One Conference (CT, MA and RI) will be Nov. 1 - 2, 2019, in Worcester, MA

 HERE In Memoriam: The Rev. Dr. William T. Scott, Jr

The Rev. Dr. William T. Scott, Jr. died suddenly at his home in Avondale, PA. on Sunday, January 27th. 

The Rev. Scott served at the Somersville Congregational Church in Connecticut from 1974-1976 before ministering as a chaplain and chaplain educator, first at the The Williamsport Hospital in Pennsylvania (1982-1990) and then at The Stamford Hospital in Connecticut (1990-1992). He served on the Church and Ministry Committee for the New Haven Association from 2000-2002. While at The Stamford Hospital he did part-time volunteer duty with the American Red Cross as a spiritual responder to airplane disasters, including Egypt Air, the 9/11 event, and the airplane crash in the Rockaways section of New York. 

His memorial service will be held at the New Ark United Church of Christ in Newark, DE on Saturday, February 23, at 11 AM.  

Read his obituary


Classifieds

More: ctucc.org/classifieds


Convergence Leadership Project Accepting Applicants

The Center for Progressive Renewal has opened registration for the next cohort of an online leadership development program called the Convergence Leadership Project. Author and national faith leader Brian McLaren is the director of the program, supported by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis from Middle Collegiate Church in NY, Diana Butler Bass, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Lindsay Andreolli-Comstock, Jim Keat and others.

Read more


Other Events of Interest

Truth Decay: The Gravity of the Cavity in Our Veracity
Feb. 21, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
John P Webster Library, West Hartford, CT

Humorist, author, and local radio-show host Colin McEnroe will discuss how our ability, as a society, to agree on the differences between truth and falsehood has been steadily degraded.

 
 

Connecticut Conference, UCC
125 Sherman Street, Hartford, CT 06105
Toll Free in CT: 866.367.2822 | 860.233.5564