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- Creating and Sustaining a Pastoral Support Committee, by Karen Ziel
- March Lunch & Learn for Leaders | Collective Leadership and the Ingredients of Future-Oriented Collaboration with Barry Shelley: TODAY from 12:00-1:00 PM (REGISTER)
- Small Church Roundtable: Tuesday, 3/21/2023 from 1:00-2:30 PM for clergy and 7:00-8:30 PM for clergy and laity. (REGISTER)
- Coming (Back) To Life, Deepening Connection | A Series of Virtual Mini Retreats for Clergy: Series begins March 22 on zoom from 9:30-11:00 AM (REGISTER)
- Lenten Book Study on Microaggressions in Ministry: The book study will culminate on Wednesday, March 29th, from 12noon – 1:30 pm ET with a zoom conversation hosted by Rev. Dr. Chris Davies with the authors Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D. and Rev. Angela Yarber, Ph.D. (REGISTER)
- April Lunch & Learn for Leaders: Caring Congregations: What the Pandemic is Teaching Us with Rev. Dr. Frederick ‘Jerry’ Streets: Thursday, April 20th from 12:00-1:00 PM (REGISTER)
- Intentional Interims Affinity Group: Beginning May 4th (REGISTER)
- Lunch & Learn for Leaders | Local Church Ministry and Public Leadership with Rev. Dan Smith: Thursday, May 18th from 12:00-1:00 PM (REGISTER)
- Noteworthy Offerings:
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How are you 'Being?'
A Clergy Well-Being Survey
Insights from a Clergy Well-being study conducted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by Rev. Dr. Frederick 'Jerry' Streets throughout Southern New England during the spring and summer of 2022 are now available and they tell an important story in answer to the question posed to clergy, "How are you 'being?' This and other questions were answered by 445 respondents who participated in this ecumenical research project that was focused on learning more about clergy self-care during the duration of the pandemic. Feedback and information gleaned in this survey may hold valuable implications for clergy well-being.
When was the last time you simply asked your pastoral leader, "How is it with your soul?". Or "How are you managing?" -an especially important overture during times of change or challenge. In his full report, which includes an overview of what clergy shared in conversations held within 11 focus groups, Dr. Streets reports... (Continue Reading) (4 Minute Read)
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BUILDING A LEGACY:
Learning, Discerning, and Leaning In
Ninth in a Series of Blogs Focused on Church Legacy by Charles Kuchenbrod
Completing a ministry faithfully and well is often a two-step process. The first step is the choice to become a legacy church. The second step has two parts: Choosing an ending date for worship and choosing a target date for winding down the institutional aspects of the church. Churches that avoid these decisions usually end up making these two choices concurrently. They only choose to become a legacy church when they choose the ending date for... (Continue Reading) (3 Minute Read)
Click Here to Access the Complete Legacy Blog Collection
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Complete Time Capsule Documentary Series Now Available Online!
The Center for Transformational Leadership recently released all 4 segments of the Resiliency Time Capsule miniseries. Funded by a Louisville Pastoral Study grant, the project sought to preserve the voices and stories of Southern New England UCC churches during the 2020 racial and COVID-19 pandemics.
Each thematic documentary segment is between 13-18 minutes long and provides testimony to the challenges our churches experienced throughout the pandemic. We hope that these testimonies will encourage churches throughout our conference to reflect on how the racial and COVID-19 pandemics of 2020 have challenged and changed them.
So take a peek to see what innovative churches like yours experienced and pioneered during the 2020 pandemic!
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Small Churches as Healthy Family Systems
by Lewis A. Parks
While this article is focused on healthy dynamics in small churches, it is useful for churches of all sizes!
While teaching pastoral care and counseling to a group of licensed pastors who serve small membership churches, I decided that a lecture on family systems would be just the ticket. Students of the pioneering work of Murray Bowen and Edwin Friedman have been applying family systems analysis to the realities of small membership churches for almost two decades. Repeatedly I hear my clergy colleagues warn of the dysfunctional family systems found in small churches. “They’ll try to triangulate you at every turn,” my colleagues warn. “They’re great on scapegoating,” they say, and “God help you if you cross the matriarch!” So, thinking the licensed pastors should be alerted to these... (Continue Reading) (4-Minute Read)
2023 Proportional Giving:
Fulfilling Our Mission
Proportional Giving enables the Southern New England Conference to offer a wide variety of programs, workshops, and events to meet the needs of authorized ministers and lay leaders across our conference. In this 6-minute video, Rev. Goodwin offers highlights of these programs from the past year and lifts up the great work that has been done to support our churches.
Creating and Sustaining a Pastoral Support Committee
An inquiry from a new pastor whose congregation is forming a Pastoral Support Committee for the first time writes:
“I am looking for material on Pastoral Relations Committees, I would like to create a committee for myself, drawing from the search committee, but I need some documentation for this new committee as they have not had one before. If you cannot help me perhaps you can point me in the right direction.”
And a church leader from a congregation preparing to welcome a new Designated Term Pastor also writes:
“Can you send some information to our newly formed PPRC members? This is new to us, and we would appreciate resources that offer good guidance.”
Answer:
Below are resources you may find useful to create and sustain a Pastoral Support Committee. Yes, the language is changing! On February 25th 2023, at The Church Leadership Training sponsored by the Center for Transformational Leadership (CTL), Rev. Tara Barber of The United Church of Christ Ministerial Excellence, Support and Authorization team (MESA), led a workshop on best practices and design for an effective Pastoral Support Committee. She explained that the new term (former language includes Pastor Parish Relations Committee or Pastoral Relations Committee) is offered to create an intentional focus for the team and to create and engage a covenantal relationship for the work that will fulfill a three-fold purpose:
- To strengthen and sustain the ministries of all the partners that share in the covenant,
- To encourage mutual participation and accountability of and for the life of each by the others and to create a safe space for authentic conversation,
- To observe, nurture, celebrate, and call forth the ministry of the Authorized Minister.
Members of the MESA team and our staff of Area Conference Ministers highly recommend purchasing A Sure Foundation from United Church Resources. On pages 13-22 it has a comprehensive overview of the work of Pastoral Support Committees and even has case studies for conversation and engaging best practices. The book is here as a download and is $6.00 per copy. There is valuable information throughout the entire booklet. Your team may also find some of the below useful.
Materials from The Updated Leader’s Box that may assist a team:
From the Lewis Center for Leadership:
Faith and Leadership:
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March Lunch & Learn Session - TODAY!!!
How do congregations work together to address the complex challenges they now face? Join Barry Shelley in discussing what collective leadership is and what ingredients are needed for committed actors to co-create spaces for effective collaboration. Barry will introduce the resources of the Collective Leadership institute and how their approach and tools may help church leaders develop the competencies to lead collectively towards a sustainable church future, both within congregations and with congregational engagement in the larger community.
The Lunch & Learn for Leaders series is offered at no cost to participants through your proportional giving!
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Coming (Back) To Life, Deepening Connection:
A Series of Virtual Mini Retreats for Clergy
The pandemic has left some things feeling broken and other things feeling broken open. This series will be a chance to bring some intentional pause into your life on a regular, recurring schedule. It will be time to gather with others to nourish your heart and spirit through community and curiosity.
Once each month, a group of clergy peers will gather for 90 minutes via Zoom to prayerfully dive into a theme (like prayer, sabbath, hope, discernment, sorrow), with time for personal and shared reflection. Each facilitated session will be an opportunity to engage body, heart and mind, and a time to notice, remember, and tend those dry or shifted parts of you. Sessions will follow a rhythm of arrival to retreat mode, consideration of a topic, personal reflection, optional sharing, exploration of relevant spiritual practices and steps for further exploration. Prior to each meeting, participants will receive some quotes, questions musical links, or other materials to cultivate attention to the upcoming theme.
Planned themes include:
• Sabbath
• Discernment
• Listening & Grace
• Sorrow & Grief
• Creation & Incarnation/Embodiment
• Prayer
The facilitator for this series is spiritual director Jennie Isbell Shinn, M.Div. Jennie has a heart for supporting those called to ministry and leadership, and she loves a good retreat when it really works. She, like others, sometimes needs to unplug in order to recharge. This retreat is designed to work— in part because it honors that time, travel and the comforts of home are important considerations as we cross the threshold into “retreat mode” together, even for a little while. Jennie is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has been in private
practice as a spiritual director since 2008. In addition to providing one-on-one spiritual direction and supervision, she offers retreats and workshops on a variety of topics.(www.jennieisbell.com)
The cost is $250 for six Wednesday morning sessions to be held from 9:30 til 11 am on March 22, April 26, May 24, June 28, July 26 and August 16.
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Small Church Roundtable
Small congregations have a unique character and nature. You’re invited to celebrate the joys, hopes, and challenges of small congregations at our second of a series of seasonal Small Church Roundtable Discussions.
This session will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, 3/21/2023 from 1:00-2:30 PM for clergy and 7:00-8:30 PM for clergy and laity. In this session, we will focus our discussions on congregational and leadership capacity. We invite you to begin thinking more about capacity as you consider this article.
Collin’s dictionary defines round table meetings as a group gathered for an informal discussion or conference as if at a circular table. Our circle will be online for this first session. We have a few simple goals for these opportunities:
- To gather folks with like interests and love of small churches for discussion.
- To meet others with a passion for small churches.
- To bring diversity as well as affinity to the discussion circle.
- To share practices, strategies, resources and more without whine or brag.
- To connect and network and to create community and companionship with others who love small churches.
The host for this first pair of Small Church Round Table discussions will be Karen Ziel, Assistant Director, The Center for Transformational Leadership. Join us for a lively gathering and discussion!
Lenten Book Study on
Microaggressions in Ministry
This Conference-Wide book study is 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.
- If you are not yet familiar with a lot of the Racial Justice language used in conversations of DEI, this book study is for you.
- If you have questions about ongoing LGBTQ inclusion, this book study is for you.
- If you desire clear, specific, actionable things for your congregation to be more welcoming, this book study is for you.
- If you proclaim your church to be welcoming towards women in leadership, multiracial/ multicultural, open and affirming, or say “All Are Welcome!” then this book study is for you!
- Or, if you are simply exploring how to live more fully into a Christian call of witness and welcome, then this book study is for you.
Joining along in the book study itself is free. For Authorized Ministers and Members in Discernment, this study can include an add-on portion for a certificate of having attended a Racial Justice Training of 6 hours; priced at $49 for SNEUCC members and $65 for welcomed guests.
The book study will culminate on Wednesday, March 29th, from 12noon – 1:30 pm ET with a zoom conversation hosted by Rev. Dr. Chris Davies with the authors Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D and Rev. Angela Yarber, Ph.D.
Please register for more information including a reading schedule with discussion questions!
**SNEUCC will provide a code to each participant to buy a book at a 40% discount from the publisher.**
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April Lunch & Learn Session
Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, denominations, clergy, and congregations are deeply reflecting on what different ways of thinking and practices will further foster healthier ways of caring for self and one another in the mutual work of ministry. Central to this focus is how clergy and church members can hold together their relationship to one another; and hold the space between their faith and thinking and their knowing, doing and being in the world. The clergy and churches play a key role in the preservation of health and well-being in the community they serve. This important societal role means that the clergy and the institutions they serve must protect and nurture their own health, well-being, and institutional relationships.
This presentation will offer a framework for exploring some of the on-going positive and challenging results the influence of the pandemic is having on the church.
Intentional Interims Affinity Group
Back by popular demand, our group for Intentional Interims! Interim Ministry is a special calling and one that requires unique skills, gifts and training. In a time when effective Interim ministers are in high demand and yet often serve in challenging situations, support and colleague connections are even more essential. Led by a seasoned interim and experienced coach, this group seeks to provide a community of colleagues who can challenge, encourage and learn from one another while exploring the context of Intentional Interim Ministry. Sessions will take place from 10 til noon on May 4, July 6, September 7, November 2 and January 4, 2024. The cost is $250 for the series.
This affinity group will be lead by the Rev. Dr. Jim Latimer, an experienced interim minister and professional coach. Jim is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation. He has been coaching ministry leaders and teams for many years around vitality, ministry effectiveness, governance and leadership development, including eight years as an Affiliate Coach with Convergence, formerly the Center for Progressive Renewal. He also teaches coaching skills to ministry leaders and is a former faculty member with Coaching4Clergy. As both a settled and transitional interim minister, he has served UCC congregations in CA, PA, OH, and CT.
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May Lunch & Learn Session
Join SNEUCC leaders and Rev. Dan Smith of First Church in Cambridge, Congregational for a conversation about how we develop and grow our capacity for spiritually-grounded, public leadership. Drawing from the "public narrative” approach of longtime United Farm Workers organizer Marshall Ganz, we will explore together and share examples of how aligning "a story of self, a story of us and a story of now” can help us build relationships and power to create effective social action in our wider communities. Recently awarded the 2023 Drum Major for Justice award by the Cambridge NAACP, Dan is a longtime leader in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and an adjunct faculty member at Harvard Divinity School and was a member of the Faculty Committee for the Presidential Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery.
The Lunch & Learn for Leaders series is offered at no cost to participants through your proportional giving!
NOTEWORTHY OFFERINGS
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