Conference Weekly E-Newsletters to Go On Hiatus
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.
Read more
Many Voices One Mission: Ready, Set, Go
|
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?
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: Trapped In The Present
|
By The Rev. Diann H. Bailey, Associate Minister at First Church of Christ, Congregational in Suffield, CT
In this week’s gospel, we encounter a nameless, screaming, naked man who lives in the cemetery. He is the “crazy” one who everyone in town knows. The one who when we see coming, we cross over to the other side. The one who when we encounter them with our children, we pull our children closer to our side. If we are really honest with ourselves, most of us have encountered someone like this and reacted with distrust or fear. We think to ourselves, “If only he could be healed. If only he could be normal again.”
Miraculously, Jesus does heal him.
Read the full reflection
|
|
|
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
|
Clergy Camp
June 26 - 29
Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon CT
Join fellow clergy for reflection, renewal, and worship in the woods.
CTUCC Racial Justice Training
July 23, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
First Congregational Church of Guilford, CT
This training seeks to unmask racism while creating a common language with which we can identify the social and institutional constructs of racism. Fulfills the training requirement for clergy.
The Fiscal Cliff: Part 1 of Navigating the Wilderness
July 10, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Online
Is your church approaching a financial cliff? Are you wondering how to avoid going off the edge. Take part in this first in a series of webinars with Susan Townsley and Charlie Kuchenbrod.
|
|
Clergy Transitions: April & May 2019
The following ministerial changes were reported to the Connecticut Conference in April & May 2019.
Reported in April:
Rev. Jocelyn Gardner Spencer called as Settled Senior Pastor at United New Haven.
Rev. Carl Howard called and began his term as Settled Pastor at FCC West Haven.
Rev. Jane Newall was installed as Designated Term Pastor at Brooklyn Federated.
Rev. Dan England began his term as Supply Pastor at Olivet.
Rev. Todd Yonkman ended his term as Designated Term Pastor at First Stamford.
Rev. Robyn Gray began her term as Settled Pastor at First Washington.
Rev. John Nelson began his term as Designated Term Pastor at Salisbury.
Rev. Theresa Borchetta ended her term as Associate Pastor at Branford.
Rev. Jill Olds ended her term as Associate Pastor at UCC Tolland.
Rev. Kendrick Norris ended his term as Interim Pastor at Meriden Center.
Rev. Suzanne Wagner began providing Pastoral Sabbatical Coverage at Lordship.
Rev. Susan Murtha ended her term as Interim Pastor at New Haven Redeemer.
Rev. Bonnie Scott retired from and began her term as Minister Emerita at New Haven United.
Rev. Gordon Johnson, Pastor Emeritus, Central Village Congregational Church, Pastor Emeritus, First Congregational Church of Plainfield died Feb. 25.
Reported in May:
Rev. Deborah Rundlett installed as Pastor at Ridgebury.
Rev. Stanley “Will” Sencabaugh installed as Pastor at Lebanon.
Rev. Brenda Pelc-Faszcza installed as Pastor at Canton Center First.
Rev. Paul Doyle installed as Pastor at Park Norwich.
Rev. Jerry Smith began his term as Co-Pastor at Oxford.
Rev. Karen Jodice began her term as Co-Pastor at Oxford.
Rev. Donna Manoccio ended her term as Bridge Pastor at Granby First.
Rev. Olivia Hayes Robinson began her term as Bridge Pastor at United New Haven.
Rev. Todd Yonkman began his term as Transitional Senior Pastor at Granby First.
Rev. Elizabeth Gleich ended her term as Associate Pastor at Glastonbury First.
Rev. Susan Murtha began her term as Interim Bridge Pastor at Center Meriden.
Rev. Deborah Breault began her term as Interim Pastor at Somers.
Rev. Barry McCarthy ended his term as Interim Pastor at Coventry First.
New Haven Association received into their association Seymour Congregational Church.
Classifieds
Other Events of Interest
2019 Craigville Theological Colloquy
July 8 - 12
Craigville Retreat Center, Craigville, MA
Faith & Science: The Choices We Make with Dr. Jennifer J. Wiseman and Professor Ron Cole-Turner.
