Special Annual Meeting Edition

This is a roundup of coverage of the 5th Annual Meeting, held June 21 & 22. These articles, plus videos, photos, presentations and materials from the meeting can all be found at: www.sneucc.org/2024AM and will continue to be added as they are edited.

500 Gather for 5th Annual Meeting to Focus on Growing the Church

Nearly 500 people - 400 in person and another 100 online - attended the 5th Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ held June 22, 2024, at UMass, Amherst and were presented with stories, ideas and testimonials related to growing the church.

Read an overview of the meeting 6 Min Read

Goodwin Reports: Find Hope Now Website Seen 10,000 Times in First Month

At the 5th Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference, Executive Conference Minister the Rev. Darrell Goodwin gave an update on the Find Hope Now Initiative, designed to increase awareness of SNEUCC churches and to connect people with places of hope.

The campaign officially launched May 16, when the Conference began running five social media ads on Facebook and Instagram, aimed at increasing awareness of the idea that there are churches where they can find welcome and understood in their own faith journeys. The ads direct people to FindHopeNow.org, which features stories of hope from local SNEUCC churches and several "Find a Church" buttons that connect people to a directory of SNEUCC churches.

Read, Watch & View the Presentation
5 Min Read; 14 Min View

Goodwin: Wake Up, Be Loud and Reclaim the Name of Jesus

In his sermon during the opening worship of the 5th Annual Meeting, Executive Conference Minister the Rev. Darrell Goodwin called on the people and churches of the Conference to wake up, be loud and reclaim the name of Jesus.

Referencing the Scriptural passage that served as the theme for the meeting, Matthew 16:13-20, Goodwin said he had one "tension" with it, and that is that Jesus tells the disciples to keep the identity of the Messiah a secret.

"One of the failures of the church today is we still think that contextually applies to us. So it becomes uncomfortable for us to share our faith, uncomfortable for us to talk about who God is," he said.

Read & Watch 6 Min Read; 16 Min View

5th Annual Meeting Keynote
Focused on Growing with the Help of 'God Math'

Seven years ago, eighty beachgoers spontaneously formed a human chain to save a family of nine trapped in a rip current. It took everyone working together to bring those individuals, unharmed, back on land.

That’s how the Keynote Speaker for the 5th Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference, the Rev. Dr. Courtney Stange-Tregear, introduced the concept of "God Math."

"They came together and did together what not one of them, truly, could have done on their own. They saved lives, together," she said.

Read & See the Presentation 4.5 Min Read

WISE Resolution Overwhelmingly Passed at 5th Annual Meeting

The 5th Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference overwhelmingly approved a resolution brought by the Board of Directors to call upon the Conference staff, congregations and members to engage in the national UCC W.I.S.E. (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, Engaged) certification program, in relation to fostering mental health.

One delegate spoke to the resolution via Zoom from an inpatient psychiatric unit.

Read 2 Min Read

Four Pre-Events Brought Culture, Permaculture, and Inspirational Stories of Grounding and Growth to Annual Meeting

The 5^th Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference had a packed business agenda, but there were some fun pre-events that took place in and around the UMass Amherst campus for attendees arriving the day before the main event.

Attendees could attend a lecture and tour of the permaculture gardens on the campus grounds, learn about the lives of Black and Indigenous people in Amherst from an exhibit of historical photographs at the Amherst College Frost library, attend a screening of a documentary celebrating one church pastor’s ministry of helping to re-build her community with the help of the UCC Church Building and Loan Fund, and listen to brave storytellers sharing their experiences of being grounded through the grace of the spirit.

Read & See Photos

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