Image
A Note from your Area Conference Minister

Dear Colleagues in Ministry,

I will be on vacation from July 19 through August 8.  If you have a concern that needs attention before I get back, please contact Program Associate Jill Ford at FordJ@sneucc.org  I pray you will find rest and renewal during this summer season.

Michael Ciba

The Rev. Dr. Michael Ciba  [he/him/his]
Area Conference Minister and Team Leader


Conference Events and Resources

(please go to sneucc.org/events to see all posted events)

 

Clergy are urged to sign letter to Biden administration to curb both carbon emissions and air pollution.

At General Synod, UCC and national faith leaders shared some of their efforts to bring about Climate Justice, emphasizing the importance of staying rooted in community and hope so that we do not become complacent. They urged us to continue pushing our elected officials for significant and urgent action on the climate crisis, including asking clergy to sign this letter, urging the Biden administration to curb both carbon emissions and air pollution.  https://interfaithpowerandlight.salsalabs.org/cleancars/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=b1d69471-6515-4b6d-9f05-a7a8dd3d1f8d  In addition to adding your name to this letter, I invite our Southern New England congregations to discern how God is calling you to respond to the climate crisis and environmental injustice. In the coming months, we will share more opportunities to join our efforts together, and I welcome the chance to be in conversation directly with you: brewer-walline@sneucc.org


Stewardship Resources

Giving USA 2021 Report

Giving USA, which issues the oldest and most comprehensive report on charitable giving in the U.S., recently released its report for last year. The report contains mixed and helpful news for religious organizations, such as local churches and Conferences.

Click here to read more about the findings in this report, and what this all means for the local church, written by Rev. Dr. David Cleaver-Bartholomew, Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations for the SNEUCC.


 

Are you familiar with the three-legged stool of stewardship?  Find out more at the Stewardship, Generosity, Fundraising & Financial Management web page of the Southern New England Conference.  "For wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also." ~ Matthew 6:21


Registration for Tending the Fire is Now Open! Three Retreats. One Goal: A More Effective You!

Wise, resilient leadership for a changing world.

Pastors, do you long to lead your congregation with less anxiety?  Would you like to better understand how internal and external anxieties are affecting your congregation?  Are you wondering how you can better address conflict in your church, anticipate pushback in response to change and manage complicated interactions within the congregation? Understanding the church you serve as both a system and a web of interlocking systems may be the key!
 
Tending the Fire is a retreat series focused on understanding churches & organizations through the lens of Systems Theory. Human systems are complicated, and churches are no exception.  At their best, they draw out excellence in their people.  At their worst, they become stuck--undermining and sabotaging even the most well-designed plans for change.  Tending the Fire helps clergy "think systems" in their congregations and their personal lives, so they can lead change that lasts.

For more information and to register for Tending the Fire 2021-2022 go to www.togetherwethrivegrant.org/tending-the-fire. Registration is now open and space is limited.



Click here to download a shareable flyer.

Click here to register to attend the August 12th book group.

Click here to register to attend the September 2nd book group.

Resources to purchase books from independent book sellers.


New SNEUCC Staff Directory Now Online

A new staff directory on the Southern New England website is designed to help explain the staffing structure, and clarify who can provide resources is what area.  The directory also includes an organizational chart.  Visit here.


Tech Deacons Meetups - morning and evening options.

You are invited to join Rev. Eric Elley, Digital Minister, and other local church colleagues for weekly Tech Deacons Roundtable Discussions. During these gatherings we will provide an arena for churches to support one another by sharing ideas, bringing questions, and identifying new trends and opportunities in digital ministry.  In these videoconferences, we will recognize that there won't be one expression of digital ministry to fit all churches.  Yet now is the season for the sharing of ideas and experiences -- we all are endeavoring to figure out the coming season of digital ministry.

Every other Tuesday at 11am (8/10, 8/24 ...), and alternate Tuesday evenings at 7pm (8/3, 8/17 ...)  Click here to find more information and ways to register for these ongoing discussions on the ever evolving landscape of digital ministry in the Southern New England Conference.


Looking Ahead

 

Boundary Awareness Training 2.0 - Online

Now open for registration.  BAT 2.0 Online (Refresher) is a course for those who have completed at least one boundary training offering in the past. It includes a review of the power and responsibility of ministerial relationships, particularly sexualized behavior in ministerial relationships, a review of the UCC Ministerial Code, and an in-depth conversation about confidentiality. This program takes place on November 2, from 8:30 to 11:30.  Registration is limited to 50 participants.  Information, including a registration link, can be found here.

BAT 1.0 (Foundations) will be offered over the course of two different days (previously done over three days) in January: 1/18-1/19, 9:00am to 3:30pm both days.  Once registration is open that link will be shared in future regional newsletters

Both of these trainings will be held via Zoom.


Regional Clergy Conversations with Rev. Dr. Michael Ciba

Southwest Regional Clergy will receive email announcements with zoom links, but please consider adding these clergy conversations to your calendar:

  • August 18 at 11am
  • August 31 at 3pm

- Southwest Regional Newsletter -

No August 15th edition due to vacation schedules. 

Look for the next issue on August 30.


Discipleship Opportunities
 

You're Invited! Chronicle Your Church’s Resiliency

Are you looking for a fresh, new inter-generational program this summer that will engage your youth and benefit your congregation? One that will make the concept of “resiliency” come alive? 
 
We invite you to proclaim your resiliency! Join us in this ground-breaking project, The Resiliency Time Capsule: Stories of Adaptation, Lessons for the Future.  Let’s face it. Most of us simply want to forget 2020 ever happened. But, like any event that involves death and resurrection, it is important to record what happened and, more importantly, how we as the Church responded.
 

Click HERE to learn more about this project and how your church can participate, from the Center for Transformational Leadership of the SNEUCC.


SNEUCC Virtual Faith Formation Summit

Saturday, September 18 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Relationships, Resiliency, and Re-Entry: Adaptive skills for local church leaders. Audience is local church Pastors and Faith Formation practitioners, including members of the Faith Formation Leadership Certification Program, and Faith Formation Communities of Practice. Registration is now open


Outdoor Ministries


The Southern New England Conference engages in Outdoor & Retreat Ministry with the following sites: 

Edwards House Meeting & Retreat Center, Framingham, MA 
Edwards House offers fully-equipped meeting space for working gatherings both large and small as well as a warm, intimate setting for small overnight retreats.
Irons Homestead, Glocester, RI
Nestled in the northwest corner of Rhode Island and where you can still see the stars at night, Irons Homestead offers religious and educational groups a sacred space to lean into nature and connect more deeply with God and one another.
Pilgrim Day Camp, Framingham, MA
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR IN-PERSON CAMP!
This is a traditional summer day camp with over 50 years of experience in providing children safe, summer fun.  PDC is located on 113 acres of sprawling fields and woods at the SNEUCC Framingham property. The camp ensures fun, and emphasizes a warm welcome for each child, care for the natural world, and respect for the differences among us.
Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon, CT. 
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR IN-PERSON CAMP!
With more than 60 acres of wooded land on lakeside shores, Silver Lake offers many opportunities for young people to take risks and try new things with the support of an intentional Christian community.


Regional News

 

You're Invited!

Please plan to join the Women's Connection of the Southern New England United Church of Christ for their Outdoor Fall Gathering.
 

WHERE: First Congregational Church, Canterbury, CT

WHEN: Saturday, September 18, 2021 (Rain Date - Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021)  8:30am - Registration, Coffee, Display Tables Open

Guest Speaker: Susan Schoenberger, Hartford Seminary

Other Activities: CWS Project, 2021 Recognized Women Awards, Worship and Communion

Food: "Coffee & More" and lunch.

Registration: $20.00 - Click here for further information.

- CLASSIFIEDS -

Director of Music - Part Time - Monroe, CT

Director of Faith Formation (Part Time) - Ledyard, CT

Music Director - Part Time - Ellington, CT

Minister of Music (Part Time) - Ledyard, CT

Church Financial Administrator - Avon, CT

Director of Christian Education - West Haven, CT

Live Stream Technician - Granby, CT

Music Director and Organist - New Haven, CT

Christian Education & Youth Group Leader - Southbury, CT

Director of Faith Formation with Children & Youth - Canton, CT


Do you have events that you'd like to have highlighted here?  Please send your stories to Jill Ford, Program Support Associate, so that the good news of your impactful ministry can be shared with your regional colleagues.


Association Events

 

The Southwest Region of the Southern New England Conference is comprised of:

  • Fairfield East Association
  • Fairfield West Association
  • Litchfield South Association
  • Naugatuck Valley Association
  • New Haven Association
  • New Haven East Consociation
Obituaries

 

Please click here to view all SNEUCC Obituaries.

Transitions

 

Click here to see all church transitions in the SNE Conference.


Southwest Regional Newsletter Subscription


You are receiving this newsletter because we've identified you as a local church or you have standing in one of the associations in the Southwest Region of the Southern New England Conference. This newsletter will be sent around the 15th and 30th of each month, except for August when we will send only one edi. If you would like to unsubscribe or change your email preferences, please visit sneucc.org/subscribe and enter your email address.

 

Southwest Region of
The Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ

125 Sherman St.
Hartford, CT 06105
860-761-7112
fordj@sneucc.org 
www.sneucc.org/southwest