NEW PHONE NUMBERS FOR CONFERENCE STAFF

Area Conference Minister, The Rev. Liz Garrigan-Byerly and Program Support Associate, Deb Holmes have new phone numbers!

Rev. Garrigan-Byerly: 508-244-4311

Deb Holmes: 508-244-4399

The conference has a new comprehensive phone system. You can call 1-866-367-2822 and be in touch with any staff member.
Both of the above numbers are now active, please update your phone contacts. Their old numbers will no longer work after 1/31/22.

Dear Siblings in Christ,
 
Last Sunday, my family attended an inspiring and uplifting performance of the Me2 Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall.  And I, of course, couldn’t help but think about the church.
 
This is an orchestra comprised of folks with mental health challenges and those who support them. Their mission is to create a stigma-free space in which to make beautiful music together. And they do. Between soaring orchestral pieces, members offered testimony about how their lived experience with mental illness and what the orchestra means to them. They shared how the compassion and acceptance they experience there allows them to recover and flourish. I was especially moved by the elementary school teacher, many of whose students and families attended, who spoke openly about his anxiety, and in a way kids could understand. I was grateful my own ten year old was hearing an adult model such wellness.
 
It was my family’s first time in Symphony Hall, which is grand and formal. We gawked at the ornate ceiling and towering statues and giddily oohed and aahed over the artistry all around us. Given the theme of the concert, the atmosphere was less formal; there were lots of squirmy kids and most people wore their everyday clothes. Even so, I had to fight the feeling that I didn’t belong. I didn’t grow up around formal spaces and I often feel uncomfortable in them; I don’t know all the customs and etiquette and often feel out of place.
 
Whenever I meet with search committees, I ask them to share what they love about their church and almost always someone in the group says, “the sense of welcome” or “it’s like family,” and I see heads nod around the zoom squares. What a blessing. In a world that constantly tells us we need to be something else, Christ’s radical welcome and embrace that the church embodies is essential.
 
I wonder though, if that welcome and sense of belonging are more easy for some to find in the church than others. Do folks whose depression is so intense that they can barely respond to the passing of the peace feel welcome, or judged because they can’t keep up with social norms? Do young families who have never stepped foot in a sanctuary feel out of place because they don’t know the customs and etiquette of our rather formal spaces? Does the multicultural couple feel part of the family when their cultural context differs significantly from the majority of the other worshippers? In my God Talks with Rev. Goodwin, we talked about how sometimes what churches mean by welcome is really assimilation. We in the church are so comfortable with how it works for us that we assume it will work that way for others, and we welcome them with the assumption that they will assimilate to our ways of worshipping and caring and living. I’m not sure that’s what the Holy Spirit had in mind on that first Pentecost. The Spirit did not change the hearing of those gathered so they could understand the disciples; rather, it changed the disciples to enable them to be understood by all those gathered.
 
May the Spirit continue to move among us, adapting our speech, our practices, our churches, so that anyone who encounters us may meet the Risen Christ in our midst, and find a home within the Body of Christ.
 
Blessings

Rev. Elizabeth Garrigan-Byerly (she/her)
Area Conference Minister, North Central Region (Central, MA & Windham, CT Associations)
Cell: 508-244-4311 - New Number

Connect with your ACM

Whether you are a pastor, lay leader, MID or covenantal partner, I welcome the chance to meet with you virtually one on one. To schedule a time, click here and follow the instructions. If none of the times work for you, then please email Deb Holmes (holmesd@sneucc.org). 

Worcester Area Mission Society (WAMS) is seeking a new Director of Programs

Attached is a letter from Karen Ludington, Executive Director, of WAMS that has a job description and ways to apply and/or to contact her with questions. Letter 

Do we have your church leaders listed correctly?

Please have your church administrator (or whoever handles your church's email account) visit the Church Dashboard (part of the Southern New England Conference's data base) to make sure we're connecting with all the current leaders in your church. If you have difficulty logging into your account please contact Nancy Stubbs at stubbsn@sneucc.org.

Churches Asked to Report Data to National Setting

The United Church of Christ Data Hub is open, and churches are asked to submit information on membership, attendance and finances between now and March 2.  Instructions related to the Data Hub can be found on the Conference website here: www.sneucc.org/datahub.  Email invitations are also being sent to churches asking them to submit their information.

Among the "12 Important Reasons to Report Annual Church Data" listed by the national setting are the need to update church contact information in the UCC Yearbook and the UCC website, and the importance of contributing to denominational trends in the annual UCC Statistical Profile, which tracks overall membership, ministerial compensation and church finances over time. 

Super Saturday "A Future With Hope: Relevant, Prophetic and Transformative” Due to the increase in Covid cases, Super Saturday is now Virtual. Registration Deadline:  March 13, 2022 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND READ MORE!

Faith and Food: Stewarding Creation for Healthier Communities Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM This free, online workshop will be hosted by Health and Wellness Ministry and the Environmental Ministries Team to help congregations participate in National Nutrition Month during March. The workshop will explore how faith informs our relationship with food as well as our relationship to others and to Creation, and is offered as part of the SNEUCC Health and Wellness Quarterly Webinar series. Click here for more information and to register.   The United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance, the charitable arm of the Pension Boards, UCC, Inc, is accepting applications for its next cohort to participate in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative. NGLI is a leadership development initiative that equips, energizes, and empowers younger United Church of Christ local church pastors to build vibrant congregations that change lives and further God's mission in the world.The notice of intent to apply is due February 1, 2022. Apply for NGLI here: https://bit.ly/NGLI_2022_APPL. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/PB_NGLI.

New Lunch & Learn Programs being offered!

• Feb 12: Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver on Part I of a free 2-part online workshop Polity - What We Owe Each Other in Covenant
• Feb. 17: Rev. Elizabeth Dilly lead a Lunch & Learn program on Behaviorial Covenants
• Feb 26: Small Church Summit - Is your small church ready to wake up and refresh its ministry?

DISCIPLESHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT A GLANCE Our Whole Lives Holistic Sexuality Education for UCC Congregations The United Church of Christ, in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Association, offers high quality materials for holistic sexuality education to congregations for use with their youth and young adults, as well as adults, older adults, and even younger children through the Our Whole Lives curriculum materials. NEW! OWL Training for Elementary Curriculum will be offered on February 25th - February 27th. Click here for more details. - Faith Formation Leadership Program 2021-2022 - Now offered only on Zoom! The Southern England Conference's Faith Formation Leadership Program offers multiple sessions of five to six different classes that may be taken "a la carte" or for the purpose of working toward a certificate in Faith Formation Leadership. For more information about the certification program, click here. Visit the Faith Formation webpage for more information.   OUTDOOR MINISTRIES & MISSION OPPORTUNITIES The Southern New England Conference engages in Outdoor & Retreat Ministry with the following sites: Edwards House Meeting & Retreat Center, Framingham, MA Irons Homestead, Glocester, RI Pilgrim Day Camp, Framingham, MA Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon, CT. The 2022 Silver Lake summer camp brochure is available online now & will be in mailboxes in January! View and download the brochure.  REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 15  Fueling Inclusion, Voice, and Opportunity for All WAMS Works with individuals and community partners to inspire economic and education equity through social change. Click here to learn more about WAMS.  Worcester Fellowship Please check their website for updated information.   PULPIT SUPPLY INFORMATION   Please email Deb Holmes at holmesd@sneucc.org for an updated copy of the regional pulpit supply list.  If you are interested in being included on the North Central region pulpit supply list please contact Deb Holmes. ACTIVE FOOD PANTRIES AND OUTREACH MEALS The attached list is an updated list of churches in the North Central Region that currently have active food pantries and outreach meals for people in need. Please email Deb Holmes at holmesd@sneucc.org to have your church information included or updated. North Central Region List. TRANSITIONS   Please click here to view all of the SNEUCC Transitions.   CELEBRATIONS January Anniversaries 50 Years The Rev. Dr. James Harrison 20 Years The Rev. Dr. Karen Nell Smith 15 Years The Rev. Gail Wright Please contact Deb Holmes if we have missed your anniversary.  Anniversaries are listed from 5 years and forward in increments of 5. If your church is celebrating a mile anniversary please let Deb Holmes know so that entire North Central Region can celebrate with you! OBITUARIES The Rev. Gordon S. Bates of Cromwell, CT passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on January 20, 2022.  A loving husband, father and grandfather, Gordon will be forever missed by his devoted wife Wanda; four daughters, Cynthia and husband Jonathan Russell, Susan and husband Andrew Schlotterbeck, Karen and husband Bryan Pritchett, Linda and husband Shawn Kelly; and his six adored grandchildren, Emma and Samuel Russell, Elizabeth and Sabrina Pritchett and Ethan and Paige Rosa.  The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the staff serving on the 4th floor of Pilgrim Manor, Covenant Living of Cromwell, for their compassionate caring during Gordon's last weeks. Due to the current public health situation, a celebration of Gordon's life will be held at a later date when it is safe to gather. Donations in Gordon's memory may be made to the Gordon S. Bates Scholarship Fund, Community Partners in Action, 110 Bartholomew Avenue, Suite 3010, Hartford, CT 06106. Please click here to read more. The Rev. Dale M. Greene passed away on January 25, 2022.  Dale leaves to cherish her memory her daughter, Jennifer Greene Lepoutre, and her three sons, Fred, Jeff, and Ross Greene.  Her family includes nine grandsons and eight great-grandchildren. Dale is remembered as a caring minister who helped raise awareness and worked to ensure that all members of our church community felt included in the love of God.  Rev. Greene is the former Pastor of the First Congregational Church of Greenwich in Old Greenwich, CT.  A Memorial Service to honor Rev. Greene will be held this spring.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in honor of Rev. Dale Greene to the United Church of Christ "Join the Movement" fund or to Earthplace in Westport, CT. When more information is available we will post it here.   Please click here to view all SNEUCC obituaries.    CLASSIFIEDS   Communications Administrator - Ashburnham, MA Christian Education Director - Part Time Position - Ashland, MA Music Director - Northborough, MA Please click here to view all SNEUCC Classifieds   ASSOCIATION MEETING INFORMATION     Central Mass Association Meeting Information: The Committee on Authorized Ministry: Meets the 3rd Thursday of each month at 9:30 AM. The Board of Director's: Meets the 3rd Thursday of each month at 2:30 PM Windham Association Meeting Information: Monthly Council meeting: Tuesday of odd months from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom.