ConferenceCast 78: 5/10/2012: Video Edition"The Hardest Commandment": Rev. Eric S. Anderson Weekly Reflection from The Spirit CalendarChanceNews and AnnouncementsIn Memoriam: the Rev. Craig "Scott" N. RaeburnNORTH ANDOVER, MA -- The Rev. Craig "Scott" N. Raeburn, who served Connecticut Conference churches in New London, Taftville, Norwich, and Riverton, and a long-time dean of summer conferences at Silver Lake Conference Center, died on Saturday, May 12th. He was 74. 05/16/2012Worshiping a God Who Invented Us: Spring Meeting 2012SUFFIELD -- Two weeks before their own Pentecost celebrations, delegates and ministers from around the Connecticut Conference gathered at Suffield High School and gave thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. In a profoundly moving service at the Conference's Spring Meeting, voices murmured, wind and thunder rumbled, and a tongue of fire leapt up in praise, before the hundreds of worshipers came forward to lay aside their obsession with perfection and partake of the broken bread. 05/14/2012Youth Rock Their Revival, Because There's No Such Thing as Not Being Good EnoughHARTFORD -- On Friday, May 11, over two hundred youth and adults, young and old, gathered at the Liberty Christian Center in Hartford for the Second Annual Youth Revival of the Connecticut Conference. The exuberant evening worship celebrated many reasons why church matters through prayer, songs, personal testimony, and dance. 05/14/2012Search Committee Plans to Complete Conference Profile by JuneHARTFORD -- The Conference Minister Search Committee issued a new progress report today, considering some further issues that had emerged during their listening efforts last fall, and looking forward to the steps that lie immediately ahead. "We are actively making our way through the final weeks of phase one of our search process," wrote committee chair the Rev. Gordon Rankin. They expect to present a professionally prepared conference profile to the Board of Directors in June for their review and approval. 05/09/2012CT Women of the UCC Contemplate Justice, Honor LeadershipORANGE -- Connecticut Women of the UCC held their annual meeting on April 28 at the Orange Congregational Church UCC. Outgoing President Jennifer Peterson welcomed the assembly, which filled much of the church meetinghouse, and introduced keynote speaker Melina Rudman. 05/09/2012Practicing Progressive Christianity in the 21st Century to be Main Focus at August Leadership EventATLANTA, GA -- The Center for Progressive Renewal has announced Praxis21: Practicing Progressive Christianity in the 21st Century as the theme for its annual New Church Leadership Institute (NCLI) to be held August 8-10, 2012. Created six years ago, NCLI features world-class church planting and renewal experts within the progressive church, and is one of the main programs of the Center for Progressive Renewal (CPR). The conference will be held in Decatur, Georgia. 05/09/2012New Minister Profile: Rev. Sara Ofner-SealsNORWICH -- Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals was called to serve as senior pastor at Park Congregational in Norwich in September 2011, ending a intermittent journey eastward from Davenport, Iowa. From Iowa to Illinois to Boston, Ofner-Seals seems to have been drawn gradually to the east coast. Yet a detour west to Los Angeles helped Ofner-Seals find her path to ministry. 05/09/2012Health Insurance Exchange Bill Needs Help in CT SenateHARTFORD -- The Health Insurance Exchange fix bill (House Bill 5013), which passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives last week and which will add consumer and small business voices to the Health Insurance Exchange Board, has become victim to all the competing tensions and power plays at the Capitol. "It's a great bill," said the Christian Activities Council's Health Care Organizer, Michele Mudrick, "a real step forward in shifting the balance of power from insurance companies to people, which is a key part of health reform." 05/07/2012Walkers Fill Hartford Streets to Fill Their Neighbors' Empty BelliesHARTFORD -- Organizers believe over 5,000 area residents put one foot in front of the other on Sunday afternoon, raising over $544,000 for their neighbors who are vulnerable to hunger. "Yesterday's Walk Against Hunger was great," said Foodshare President and CEO Gloria J. McAdam in a blog post this morning. The initial count was $6,000 higher than at the end of last year's walk, and McAdam hopes that late arriving donations will help Foodshare achieve its $600,000 goal. 05/07/2012About Half of Americans in Religious CommunitiesCHICAGO, IL -- Based on reporting from houses of worship themselves, just under half of Americans participate in a community of faith, according to a 2010 study released yesterday. Researchers presented a summary report of the 2010 U.S. Religious Census: Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) at the annual conference of the Associated Church Press in Chicago yesterday, a county-by-county survey of American religious bodies, continuing the efforts originally launched by the National Council of Churches in 1952, and considerably expanding the range of faith traditions surveyed for 2010. 05/02/2012Health Care Advocates Urge Reform to Legislators and StockholdersHARTFORD -- Two hundred state residents came to the Capitol on Wednesday, according to organizers, meeting with legislators and raising their voices over excessive compensation for an insurance executive. They had good news early in the afternoon, when they learned that the House of Representatives had passed a bill adding four additional seats to the Health Insurance Exchange Board and giving a vote to the state's Healthcare Advocate, Victoria Veltri. 04/27/2012Conference Announces Reduction to Four Regional MinistersHARTFORD -- The Connecticut Conference's regional ministry staff will be reduced from five to four beginning on June first, said Interim Conference Minister the Rev. Charles L. Wildman today. He made the decision "after careful consultation, deliberation, and prayer," in the face of a persistent decline in contributions to Conference and national ministries over many years. 04/27/2012ConnTact Online April, 2012: Why Church MattersHARTFORD -- In an age when there are more who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious" than mainline Protestants, does Church still matter? In this issue of ConnTact, both church people and not-church people take up the question. Their backgrounds, experiences, and even their conclusions vary, but overall they have a clear sense that the community of faith can, does, or should make a difference in the world. 04/18/2012 |
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Voice: (866) 367-2822 CTUCC This Week Email UpdatesConferenceCast 78: 5/10/2012News BriefsCongratulations to Ann Plumley and Tom Clough Clergy AA Group Invites Newcomers and Old Hands Silver Laker Nancy Woodward to be Featured in Darien Art Exhibition Clergy AA Group Welcomes Visitors Silver Lake: We're Looking for Counselors! Come to Camp! Silver Lake Registration is Open Selected Programs and Announcements: May, 2012 Upcoming EventsCongressman John Lewis on Equal ProtectionMay 20, 2:00 pm -- Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a civil rights champion and...Fifth Tuesday Discussion: The Other 80 Percent, with Scott ThummaMay 29, 9:30 - 11:30 am -- The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church?s Spectators into Active...Giv2 RetreatMay 31, 5:00 - 8:30 pm -- Giv2 volunteers, Planning Team members and Chapter Coordinators are invited...Sixth Annual Silver Lake Golf TournamentJune 5, 7:30 am - 3:00 pm -- The sixth iteration of this fund-raiser and celebration of Silver...Basics of Christian EducationJune 11 - 13, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm -- The workshop is held Monday, June 11 through Wednesday, June...National Youth Event Orientation MeetingJune 13, 6:30 - 8:30 pm -- Youth, chaperons, and parents are invited to this information session...Renew, Refresh, Re-imagine: UCC Musicians National Network ConferenceJune 22 - 25 -- The United Church of Christ Musicians National Network (UCCMNN) will...Upcoming HolidaysMay 17: Ascension Day May 20: Rural Life Sunday
May 27: Pentecost Sunday
May 27: Strengthen the Church Offering May 28: Memorial Day (observed) June 3: Trinity Sunday June 17: Father's Day |
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