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 South Central Region of the Southern New England Conference is comprised of:

• Central CT Association
• Farmington Valley Association
• Hartford Association
• Hartford East Association
• Middlesex Association
• New London Association
• Tolland Association

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.

Clergy Renewal

Throughout the Bible, spiritual renewal is lifted up again and again as essential to human wellbeing. Keeping the sabbath holy is one of the ten commandments. The 50-year Jubilee of rest is even extended to the earth. Jesus routinely stepped away from the demands of his ministry to pray alone. Self-care is not selfish; it is faithful.  Click above for more information.

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 (acknowledging every 25 years). APRIL ORDINATION ANNIVERSARIES No April Ordinations   2023 MILESTONE CHURCH ANNIVERSARIES 355 YEARS First Church of Middletown 340 YEARS Enfield Congregational Church 330 YEARS First Church of Christ Congregational, Glastonbury 310 YEARS First Church of West Hartford  First Congregational Church of Old Lyme 300 YEARS Newent Congregational Church 290 YEARS Ellington Congregational Church 285 YEARS First Congregational Church in Bloomfield The Congregational Church in Killingworth The Congregational Church of Union 280 YEARS West Suffield Congregational Church 275 YEARS Congregational Church of East Hampton Gilead Congregational Church 255 YEARS The First Church in Hartland 250 YEARS Wolcott Congregational Church 205 YEARS Avon Congregational Church 185 YEARS Terryville Congregational Church 150 YEARS Park Church, Norwich 130 YEARS Fishers Island Union Chapel Conference & Partner Updates     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.   SNEUCC Sending Youth to General Synod  The Southern New England Conference is accepting applications from youth who want to take part in Youth @ Synod, the national gathering for young leaders ages 14 to 18 who want to connect with teens from around the country while experiencing the vibrant diversity of the wider church. The event is part of the United Church of Christ General Synod, taking place in Indianapolis, IN, June 30 to July 4. Significant scholarship support is available.    Protecting Your Church: Considerations in the Wake of Civil Unrest The foundation of mitigating risk is proper planning. Now more than ever, developing a disaster preparedness plan is critical.      This plan should include all potential incidents (weather, chemical spills, civil unrest, and pandemics). Since many churches have not resumed operations, now is the perfect time to address these concerns as part of your plan to reopen. Churches across the country have recently encountered new challenges in the form of peaceful protests that have turned violent; naturally,       congregations are concerned about their church property. Based on options for consideration provided by the Department of Homeland Security, we have provided information to help keep your congregation and church property safe. Without knowing specific information about a facility and its threat environment, it is not possible to recommend considerations that are specific for your house of worship.  Insurance Board protects your ministry by offering resources to support it.   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.  Conference Offers 'Braiding Sweetgrass' Online Book Study  A Braiding Sweetgrass online book study will be offered on Tuesdays at 6:30 PM, April 11 to May 9, led by Environmental Justice Intern Lillian Steinmayer. Each week’s discussion will focus on a different section of this book in the context of environment, gratitude, and our role as Earth's children.

 Lunch & Learn for Leaders 2022-2023 Workshop Series

Lunch & Learn for Leaders is a monthly series hosted by the Center for Transformational Leadership. Every third Thursday, join us at noon for an hour-long session of learning and discussion. Each month we will offer a bite-size opportunity to learn valuable concepts and practices from a subject expert. Our wide-ranging topics are relevant to areas of mission and ministry that you, our clergy and lay leaders, have indicated are timely for your congregations. The Lunch & Learn for Leaders series is offered at no cost to participants through your proportional giving!

April Lunch & Learn: Caring Congregations: What the Pandemic is Teaching Us 
April 20, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM • Online 
Rev. Dr. Frederick ‘Jerry’ Streets 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.   

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

A week at Silver Lake Day Camp is filled with AMAZING experiences geared for our younger campers. As we swim, explore nature, play games, do arts & crafts, go on adventures, and much more, we will make new friends, try new things, and learn about God’s dream for a world filled with LOVE, JOY, PEACE, and KINDNESS. 

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. 

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.

Pilgrim Day Camp registration is full for the summer. 
Summer Staff can apply here: https://pilgrimdaycamp.org/staff-applications/

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 South Central 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.