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Conference Weekly E-Newsletters to Go On Hiatus
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The weekly email newsletters of the Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island conferences will be going on hiatus this summer, while new communication strategies are researched and put into place for fall.
This week's editions will be the last separate email newsletters for the three conferences, which are moving toward uniting together to form a new conference. The United Church of Christ national meeting, General Synod, will be voting next week on whether to approve formation of the new conference, which would then officially come into being on Jan. 1.
Next week, a special Synod edition of the newsletter will be sent out to readers in all three Conferences. Then for the following eight weeks, no Conference-specific weekly newsletters will be published. Informational emails will be sent out to various constituent groups as needed. Regular email newsletter publications covering the entire new conference will begin in late August.
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FMLA Change Date Delayed
Breaking news for churches about the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act: The start of contribution withholding has been delayed until October 1st. More information and updated notification templates will be posted as they become available at macucc.org/pfmla.
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Children and Racism
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By Debbie Gline Allen, Associate for Faith Formation and Youth Ministries for the Massachusetts Conference
I want to tell you a story. It is a story about racism. It is a story about social media. It is a story about how children learn. It is a true story of how church educators stood up to a large publishing company to stop perpetuating racism through lessons taught to our children.
In the early spring of this year, practically every church educator I know was busy providing Lenten programming for their congregations, getting ready for Easter followed by the close of the Sunday School year, while at the same time planning for and reviewing curriculum materials to order for Vacation Bible School. While the ability to download sample lessons online provides an easy and economical way to preview curriculum materials, it does not allow the option to review everything that will be purchased.
Thus, it came as a surprise to many congregations that this year’s popular “Roar” VBS materials, offered by Group Publishing, included racist activities and teaching points.
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Faith Floods the Courtroom
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Jesus said, “I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.” Matthew 25:35a
By The Rev. Liza Neal, UCC minister and manager of Seala ag Canadh: Beyond Binaries & Borders
“If you live in a place where people are dying, how can you not respond?”
This is the answer Dr. Scott Warren gave when asked under oath to the District Court of Arizona why he volunteers his time leaving food and water in the Sonoran Desert, a place where more than 3,000 people have died in the last 10 years, 88 in the last four months. He called it “choiceless.” He had to respond to the call deep within his soul to alleviate the suffering of others, to treat people with human dignity.
After deliberating for three days, the jury could not agree as to whether this kindness was a crime.
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Many Voices, One Mission: Ready, Set, Go
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By Emily McKenna, Office Manager for the CT Conference, UCC
We most often wake up in the morning knowing just how long it will take us to get ready for the day ahead. Each of us has our own routine for getting out the door on time, and our trusty alarm clocks are set the night before to allow enough time for us to accomplish what we need to before the tasks of the day begin.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could set an alarm clock for the big things we need to prepare for? If we knew exactly how much time we’d need not only for our days, but for our projects? While we know there’s deadlines and event dates we can plan for with big projects, there’s always unexpected curveballs that alter our timeline of preparation. How do we set the alarm to account for the unknown hurdles?
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Many Voices One Mission: From the Inside
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By Rev. Chuck Ericson, Interim Eastern Regional Minister for the CT Conference, UCC
The United Church of Christ and the Connecticut Conference have been part of my life for all but my first four years. I was baptized, confirmed, married and ordained in a UCC congregation. My call to ministry came into focus as I went to conferences at Silver Lake. I have been present for more Annul Meetings and Association Committee on Ministry meetings that I can count. For 36 years I pastored in Connecticut Conference churches.
Throughout all of these life experiences, I would say that I knew our Conference and its staff pretty well ...
From the first moment I began serving our Conference as Interim Eastern Regional Minister, though, I was struck by how wrong I was.
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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.
Obituaries
The Rev. Ms. Barbara C. Paulson of Huntington, MA, passed away on June 14, 2019 at home surrounded by her family. She was ordained in 1988 and served 20 years as pastor at the First Congregational Church of Huntington, where she retired in 2008 at 80 years of age. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 29, at 11:00 AM at First Congregational Church of Huntington. Read her obituary
The Rev. Jean L. Getchell-Forbes passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 9, 2019 at the age of 79. She served as the first female associate minister at Old South Church in Boston before being called to the West Concord Union Church in 1982, where she served as senior pastor for 10 years. Read her obituary
Transitions
The Rev. Christopher Lyman Waldron called to United Parish of Auburndale as Intentional Interim Pastor
Effective: June 17, 2019
The Rev. Kate McCann called to Pilgrim Congregational Church, UCC, Weymouth as Part-Time Designated Term Pastor
Effective: April 14, 2019
More: macucc.org/transitions
Conference Events
Other Events of Interest
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North Shore Pride Interfaith Service
June 20, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Tabernacle Congregational Church UCC, Salem, MA
Clergy Camp
June 26 - 29
Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon CT
Join fellow clergy for reflection, renewal, and worship in the woods.
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