 May 20, 2010
E-Communique
Iowa Conference of the United Church of Christ
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Much
of the work we do on behalf of the member congregations of the Iowa Conference
is support of search and call. "Search and call", for those who are not fluent
in churchspeak, is the process a local congregation goes through when it is
looking for its next pastor. Helping these congregations through that process is
a major part of the way in which the Conference is able to help local churches.
A
key component of the search and call process is something called the local
church profile. In the normal course of events, this profile is something that
every congregation in search completes. It is a comprehensive document that contains
pages of data pertaining to everything from the size and make-up of the local
community to the history of the congregation. Much of this information is
intended to provide pastoral candidates with a snapshot of the congregation and
its locale. While this information is important, it is of primary interest only
to search committees and candidates.
There
are, however, at least two parts of the profile that every congregation should
take the time to complete and periodically review. In the profile section
called Congregational Life, there is
a question (No. 23) called Reflections
on Congregational Life. Completing it requires a congregation to take a
good hard look at itself and face questions that every congregation needs need to
ask itself. The other part of the profile that cries out for congregational
examination is called the Statement on
Leadership in Ministry. Its purpose, as its name implies, is to make a
congregation to take a look at the relationship between its lay leadership and
its pastor.
Every
congregation, whether it is in search or not, needs to reflect on these two
areas of congregational life from time to time. They are mission-critical
matters in the life of every congregation. Tony Stoik, Associate Conference Minister
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 Strengthen the Church offering this Sunday
Please be sure to take the Strengthen the Church offering on May 23rd. This offering, one of four
special mission offerings within the United Church of Christ, grows the
UCC's future by:
Funding new church
starts and invigorating existing congregations
Nurturing lay and pastoral leadership
Building youth
and young adult
ministries
Supporting the God is Stillspeaking
Ministry and its extravagant welcome for all within the
United Church of Christ.
All your church's gifts are directed to activities and programs of the Iowa Conference and the UCC's
national ministries.
Encourage applicants to CENTER/LEARN/SEARCH
 Pastors
and leaders: strawberries are ripening and so are candidates for
CENTER/LEARN/SEARCH. Please encourage those who are ready for more theological
dialogue, those who are searching for a greater understanding of faith and
church, to apply to CLS.
Singers needed for Annual Meeting Choir
Are you a soprano? alto? tenor? baritone? bass? Plan to join
the ANNUAL MEETING CHOIR. Please send a message to IowaConf@ucciaconf.org and let us
know you plan to sing. The rehearsal is Friday at 5:30. The group will sing at
the closing worship on Saturday. Call us at 515.277.6369 or send us an e-mail
if you have questions. Please respond by May 28th.
Youth in Ministry deadline approaching
The final deadline for the
Youth in Ministry gathering, part of the Iowa Conference UCC Annual meeting is May 25.
Register now online to be part of the
ground floor of deciding how youth will tap into their God-given talents and
use them in service of their local church and the whole Ioa Conference
UCC. Plus, you get to hang out with young people and other youth leaders from
throughout the Iowa Conference!
Come join us as we worship,
learn and do (a little) business as the 179 churches of the Iowa Conference!
Remember we have many workshop offerings for young people, youth leaders and
Christian educators as well as FREE child care.
June 10-12, 2010
Youth in Ministry Gathering
Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
Cost: $135
This
deadline cannot be extended, so register now!
RYE registration deadline extended!
Register high
school youth (entering 9th grade to graduating seniors) to this
year's RYE for the REGULAR registration fee of $200 now through June 1. Dates
for the event are:
July 14-18, 2010
West Central Regional Youth
Event
"Agape: God's love for us
all"
Park University; Parkville, MO
(near Kansas City)
Cost: $200 (by May 1)
Send registration forms and
your check for individual/church costs directly to the Missouri Mid-South
Conference:
R.Y.E. Registrar
Missouri Mid-South Conference
411 E. Lockwood Ave.
Webster Groves, MO 63119
Regular registration forms for
youth and adults must be completed by June 1. Late registrations for youth will
still be accepted with an additional $25 charge from June 2 until July 1, on a
first-come, first-serve basis subject to availability of space. All adult
advisors must be 23 years of age, complete a background check and three,
40-minutes sessions of online "safe church" training sessions to
complete their registration. If you'd like to get ahead and complete the online
training, contact Rev. Dan Lozierand give him your name, email and date of birth and he can give you a user id
and password to access the training.
Questions about RYE
registration? Call Karin Oelzen, R.Y.E. planning team, at 314-521-7324.
We have youth resources on our website!
Were you wondering if
there are trainings available for youth leaders? Are you looking for
resources to help you write a safe church policy? Are you wondering what
curriculum to use for the upcoming program year?
Check out a multitude of
resources now available on the Iowa Conference UCC website youth and young adult pages. You'll
find information about our events as well as nationally recognized youth
ministry trainings, a wide variety of resources from the national setting of
the UCC and campus ministry resources.
Check
it out today!
Prime Time Summer Camp
Pilgrim Heights offers this adult camp July 27 - 31. Check the link for full information.
Brown Fund for continuing education
Authorized
ministers of the UCC are encouraged to apply for a Brown Grant to help
underwrite costs for continuing education. If you have ever thought of
attending a continuing education event but thought your local church was not
able to underwrite all costs, the national UCC can help. Individuals can
apply for up to a maximum of $2,000.00. Such grants are available to
licensed ministers and bi-vocational ministers.
Such
grants are available for continuing education components of a sabbatical leave
(organized, structured continuing education event). Grants are
distributed three times a year: April, July and November.
Direct
inquiries and proposal submissions can be sent to: Veronica Jefferson at 216.736.3839.
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