Greetings,

A friend of mine has an annual gathering she calls "beers and boildown" where she invites everyone she knows to hang out in her backyard while she boils down the sap from her maple tree into syrup. It was this past Sunday and I was looking forward to being outside in the sunshine and connecting with new people. But I also felt this undercurrent of foreboding. I didn't understand why until I walked into her backyard and remembered that the first time I attended was 2020. By that time, we knew that Covid-19 was a problem but not how much of one or what to do about it. I remember the group trying to figure out if we could all dip our chips in a communal guacamole bowl or we should use individual bowls. Two weeks later, we went into lockdown.

Maybe this has been happening to you, or in your ministry setting. We've seen an increase in church conflict and anxiety in the last few weeks and I wonder if that is in part influenced by the time of year. Memory, grief and trauma do not only live in our minds; they live in our bodies and spirits as well. And we have to give them the space and tender care they need, or else they can start to haunt us. More than that, attending to them allows us to make meaning of our experiences, and growing beyond them without disregarding them.

Frances Weller's book The Wild Edge of Sorrow continues to be a guiding resource for me. In it, he outlines the five "gates of grief" we experience throughout life and explores the importance of ritual in attending to these. Although writing as a psychotherapist, Weller is a man of faith, and I can hear the wisdom of our faith in his work. The Bible is full of rituals--formal and informal, repeated and singular--that aided our ancestors in faith in making meaning of and a way forward with their lives. And it was God, after all, who instructed the Hebrew people to remember their exodus from oppression through ritual. It was Jesus, after all, who said "do this in remembrance of me." 

How will you tend to what is coming up for you in this season? Yes, our ministry settings--whether church, hospital, school or community group--need this, but so do we, as their spiritual leaders. What ritual--formal or informal, repeated or singular--will connect you to the Divine and guide you in meaning making? By God's grace, may you be cared for, nurtured and transformed by it. 

In faith,

Rev. Liz Garrigan-Byerly
Executive for Area Conference Ministry

Clergy Wellness Retreats
April 3, May 18 & May 29, 10am-4pm
In partnership with the UCC Pension Boards, we bring you three more opportunities for fellowship, support, and wellness in the coming months. Given the amazing programming opportunities at Super Saturday, our upcoming Annual Meeting in June, and Lenten/Easter planning and activities, we combined some of the regional retreat dates. 

Pause for Prayer
Wednesdays, 12:30pm on Facebook Live
If can be rare for us, who lead others in prayer, to be led in prayer. Our weekly, brief time of prayer offers you and others the chance to step away from the noise and the to do lists and leading to be led in prayer by your Conference staff. Whether you join us live or watch later, we pray this is a balm for your spirit.

Gathering for UCC Educational Chaplains
March 14, 4-5:30 ET, online
Join Rev. Anissa Glaser-Bacon, Minister for Ministers in Specialized Settings, for an open-ended conversation about the present and future needs for Educational Clergy and Chaplains in the United Church of Christ. This meet-up is intended for those serving as chaplains in educational settings; participants are encouraged to register in advance here.

Retired Clergy Boundary Awareness Training
March 14, 1:30pm, online

Clergy Tax Resource

It's that time of year!  Clergy taxes are nuanced. Whether you are new to clergy taxes or have been at this for decades, we highly recommend that you check out the UCC Pension Boards' Clergy Tax Preparation Guide. 

Annual Information Review Form

It's also that time of year! Completing your annual Information Review (IR) form is a requirement for maintaining Ministerial Standing. SNEUCC provides technical support to Associations to collect this information and then shares the forms with your Association, who will follow up with you as needed. If you hold Ministerial Standing in one of the following Associations, you should have already received an email from SNEUCC about completing your IR form. In that email, there is a link to your individual form, which can also be accessed through the clergy portal. Please complete this by 3/4/24; we'll send reminder emails to those who have not completed it. If you have technical issues, please contact Lynn Varney.

Barnstable, Berkshire, Central CT, Central MA, Fairfield East, Farmington Valley, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Hartford, Hartford East, Litchfield North, Litchfield South, MBA, Middlesex, New Haven, New Haven East, New London, Pilgrim, Rhode Island, Tolland and Windham Associations

The Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) has published new deadlines for applications for Board Certification:

• March 5, 2024, with interviews at the 2024 APC/NACC Conference
• June 28, 2024 for October 2024 Interviews

More information about APC’s application process can be found here. Please note that the UCC also has an application, which can be found here. Candidates with questions about the process can reach out to MESA’s Minister for Ministers in Specialized Settings and Professional Endorsement Coordinator, the Rev. Anissa Glaser-Bacon, at glaser-bacona@ucc.org.

Embers by Richard Wagamese is "a meaning-packed collection of brief spiritual reflections from one of the most prolific of Native/First Nations teachers and writers" that is a current favorite of Executive Conference Minister Rev. Darrell Goodwin.

The Workweek of a Part-Time Pastor, a blog post by Rev. Rachel McDonald for UCC Vital Signs & Statistics, provides a helpful model for being intentional about how we spend our time, regardless of whether we are part-time or full-time.  

Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition is a book recommended by the Church Building & Loan Fund. "With a diverse and interdisciplinary group of contributors, including Shelly Stackhouse and Patrick Duggan, this book encourages church and civic leaders to engage in thoughtful, intentional church property transition so this once in a lifetime shift leaves us not gone for forever, but gone for good."

Knowing When to Let Go, a blog post by David Brubaker for Congregational Consulting, holds wisdom for all of us, whether we are near retirement age, considering searching for a new call, feeling in a professional or personal rut or something else.

We all have need of support from time to time. We are deeply grateful to our covenantal partners (Board of Ministerial Aid, MA; The Trustees of the Fund for Ministers, CT; Rhode Island Association, UCC Pension Boards) and the generosity of our church’s support of proportional giving, which make these services available to all Authorized Ministers with Standing in the SNEUCC.
 
Communities of Practice, Affinity Groups & Coaching
Counseling
Grants, Financial Aid & Scholarships

This is a newsletter for Authorized Ministers in SNEUCC.