Friends, Ash Wednesday names and marks us with the reality of our mortality and the fragility of life. I hope and pray that through this stretch of the church year we are able to find individualized pathways of wrestling with how to live with those two realities with intention. One way you might engage is through the conference wide lenten book study on microaggressions in ministry. You can register for the study here: https://sneucc-reg.brtapp.com/MicroaggressionsInMinistry Blessings, Rev. Samantha Houser Bridge Area Conference Minister Southern New England Conference, UCC housers@sneucc.org

What are you up to? Does your Church or Association have events or news that can benefit from being shared - Meetings, Ecclesiastical Councils, Ordinations, etc?  This newsletter space is just waiting to be populated by your activity!  Please send your events and news Roz Hooks to be included in future monthly publications.   The Southwest Region of the Southern New England Conference is comprised of:

• Fairfield East Association
• Fairfield West Association
• Litchfield South Association
• New Haven Association
• New Haven East Consociation

The Regional Newsletter will now be sent on a monthly basis. The regular schedule will be on the Third Tuesday of each month beginning in February 2023.  If you would like to have events included please make sure to have them submitted by the Second Wednesday of the month to Roz by clicking the name above.

Huntington Congregational Church -  Volunteers Needed!

National Data Hub is open for updates The Data Hub will be available beginning noon, Wednesday, January 4, 2023. The deadline for entering data is midnight Wednesday, March 1, 2023.  Data Hub deadlines are related to publication schedules; late information may not be included in the 2023 Yearbook. Please click here for information on how to enter your church info. 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   Service of Installation for The Reverend Ryan Gackenheimer.  The installation will be held on Sunday, March 5th, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Bethel, 46 Main Street, Bethel, Connecticut.    CELEBRATIONS Here we recognize and celebrate Ordination Anniversaries listed from 5 years forward in increments of 5 years, as well as milestone church anniversaries of 100+ years. JANUARY ORDINATION ANNIVERSARIES 10 YEARS The Rev. John Perkins-Davidson - 2/1/2013 5 YEARS The Rev. Hiram Brett - 2/25/2018   2023 MILESTONE CHURCH ANNIVERSARIES 380 YEARS First Congregational Church of Guilford 315 YEARS United Churches of Durham 290 YEARS The Congregational Church of New Canaan First Church of Christ, Congregational of Redding, CT 225 YEARS Milton Congregational Church  Prospect Congregational Church, UCC 180 YEARS Southport Congregational Church 115 YEARS Evangelical & Reformed UCC   Conference & Partner Updates     Southwest Regional Gathering Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time Middlebury Congregational Church UCC 1242 Whittemore Rd Middlebury, CT 06762-24253   Come and G.R.O.W. with us at the Regional Gatherings this spring! We hope that local church leaders, authorized ministers and association leaders will join Conference staff and board members for the chance to connect, collaborate and strengthen our covenantal connections in person. You can watch the invitational video here find more information here and register here.       Save the Date! SNEUCC Annual Meeting June 17, 2023 Worcester, MA - DCU Center Roll Away the Stone Mark 16:1-4 A message from the Rev. Dr. Chris Davies, Executive Minister for Programs and Initiatives: To the churches of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts in the United Church of Christ, save the date for the Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference of the UCC. We will gather together on Saturday, June 17th, all day, for an in-person meeting in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the DCU Center, where our first historic vote to be the Conference happened. There, we will do the business of the Conference, enjoy the incarnate presence of each other and reconnect, and witness to the power of what we can do when we come together. Together , we bring hope in making disciples of Jesus, making God's love and justice real, bringing new life as agents of change, and forming covenantal partnerships. We expect that there will be a digital component to our Annual Meeting as well, the details of which are still TBA, and we're working out a few details on optional pre-events in addition. But for now, save the date and look to more information coming your way soon. Beloveds of God - I cannot wait to be with you at our Annual Meeting in June! Please click here to learn more.     Conference Launches Lenten Book Study on Microaggressions in Ministry  Executive Minister of Programs and Initiatives the Rev. Dr. Chris Davies will lead this Conference-Wide book study for people in congregations who want to learn how to be more welcoming, more inclusive, and more attentive to the way God is calling them to accompany ALL people along their spiritual paths at church.    This book study fulfills conference Racial Justice Training  requirements. Proportional Giving Video & Infographic Available to Churches  The Southern New England Conference has posted a video and infographic to aid churches in understanding the impact of their contributions to Proportional Giving to Our Church’s Wider Mission.   New Partnership to Bring Incredible Days to Edwards House  The Southern New England Conference's Edwards House Meeting and Retreat Center is partnering with Incredible Days to host four weeks in July during which youth and intergenerational groups can sign up for mission programs where participants will stay at Edwards House and do daily service projects focused on addressing urban poverty in Greater Boston. Link: https://www.sneucc.org/newsdetail/sneucc-partners-with-boston-mission-to-host-incredible-days-17301184    Ministry Matters: An Evening of Conversation Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM Come! Connect! Be Inspired!  All are invited to come for a time of conversation, education and relationship building.   The Rev. Darrell Goodwin, Executive Conference Minister, The Rev. Eric Elley, Digital Minister, and Ms. Karen Ziel, Assistant Director of The Center for Transformational Leadership, will talk about new and exciting ministries offered by the SNEUCC and engage in Q&A. Light refreshments will be served. Click here to register.    Spring 2023 Gathering for SNE Women's Connection! April 15 2023 Registration Form and Recognized Women Form

 The Center for Transformational Leadership

Church Leadership Training - click for more details
Feb. 25, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM • Online 
Basic training over Zoom open to all, but especially relevant for new and returning moderators, assistant moderators, treasurers, and pastor-parish relations committee members. This event is offered at no cost to participants through Proportional Giving to Our Church's Wider Mission. 

TOGETHER WE THRIVE Greetings Authorized Ministers, We wanted to bring to your attention several upcoming programs that you might be interested in taking advantage of, offered by Together We Thrive.  Details and registration links for all the programs may be found at www.togetherwethrivegrant.org.

Lenten Chapel of the Heart 
Wednesdays, 9 AM, March 1 - 29  • Online 
All are welcome to join a virtual devotional time on five Wednesday mornings during Lent.  The SNEUCC Faith Formation Team will lead the sessions of prayer, reflection and music which are 45 minutes in length. 

Environmental Justice Youth Retreat Sessions are led by Environmental Justice Intern Lillian Steinmayer. Lillian has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and is pursuing a Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School. She's a member of the Congregational Church in Goshen, CT, and is looking forward to diving deep into the topics of nature, faith, and what environmental justice looks like.  Click the title for more information.

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

Do You Need a Day Away?
Edwards House provides Complimentary Retreat Days to New England Non-Profit, Lay, and Clergy Leadership. Two different opportunities can be found here. 
 

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.
 

Pilgrim Day Camp, Framingham, MA - registration now open!
This is a traditional summer day camp with over 50 years of experience in providing children safe, summer fun. 
 

Silver Lake Conference Center, Sharon, CT
Share the ministry of Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center with your community!  To help you get the word out about Silver Lake’s exciting programs, visit www.silverlakect.org/promote for a collection of materials and resources.  Silver Lake mourns the passing of Ruth Turner Tyrol.

Transitions within the Southern New England Conference can be found here.

Obituaries within the Southern New England Conference can be found here.

A full list of classified postings can be found here on the SNE website.  Some examples include: Church Administrator, Digital Minister, Organist/Choir Director, Director of Faith Formation as well as items for sale or free. 

Visit our classifieds web page for details of each listing.   Church administrators are welcome to use the online template to submit information.

The Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center has two openings: one for Program Director and one for Site Manager. Click each title to see the job postings. 

The Southern New England Conference maintains Temporary Ministerial Coverage (TMC) lists for all 6 SNEUCC regions. These lists contain Clergy and Lay people that are interested in providing Sunday Supply, Sabbatical Coverage, and Bridge Coverage. All the people included on the list have had a Criminal Background Check and are required to have Boundary Awareness Training as well as Racial Justice Training. 

These TMC lists are regularly updated in real time.  If your church is in need of a list please reach out to the Program Support Associate for your Region:

North Central & Northwest Regions: Deb Holmes, holmesd@sneucc.org
South Central & Southwest Regions: Roz Hooks: Hooksr@sneucc.org
Northeast & Southeast Regions: Lynn Varney: Varneyl@sneucc.org

If you are interested in being included on any of the Temporary Ministerial Coverage regional lists please contact Jill Ford at fordj@sneucc.org. 

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. The Regional Newsletter will now be sent on a monthly basis. The regular schedule will be on the Third Tuesday of each month. If you would like to have events included please make sure to have them submitted by the Second Wednesday of the month to Roz Hooks.

If you would like to unsubscribe or change your email preferences, please visit sneucc.org/subscribe and enter your email address.