February 2012 Newsletter - Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign

THE MASSACHUSETTS CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

SUSTAINING PASTORAL EXCELLENCE ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN

Newsletter

February 2012

Clergy Support Campaign in Numbers and Dollars!

It should come as no surprise that the clergy of the Massachusetts Conference would want to financially support a program which has had as powerful impact on their ministry as the Pastoral Excellence Program has.

What is expecially inspiring, is the depth and breadth of this support. So far 96 individual clergy have already given or pledged a total of $124,707 to the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign. This includes six of our clergy who are major gift donors (pledging $5,000 or more to the campaign), who collectively pledged $45,100 to the campaign.

To make your pledge to the campaign, please visit: www.macucc.org/excellence

Growing in Community: The Promise of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Campaign

The Rev. Angela Menke Ballou is settling into her new call as the pastor of the Federated Church, Cotuit. Prior to receiving her new call in November, Rev. Ballou served as Associate Pastor at the Second Church of Beverly, MA.

When asked about her path into the ministry, she reflected on the near-fatal car accident she had suffered while a freshman in college, which demonstrated to her the power of faith and having a spiritual home. "Ninety people from the church came to be with my family to pray for me the day I almost died. I experienced what it was like to be held in community, and community at its best." Before becoming a pastor, she worked in Industrial Engineering at Walt Disney World. Her work with Disney involved a great deal of volunteering, and she realized her life outside of work was bringing her the most joy. "I finally gave into that call that I had heard years earlier."