So....what kinds of things happened at the recently completed Annual Meeting of the Iowa Conference?  Here's a taste:

·         We heard challenging and pertinent preaching thanks to Mike Williams (pastor at Anamosa) and Holly Whitcomb (one of our presenters).

·         The Saturday Night Band from Plymouth Church provided worship music that was animated, engaging, and spiritually pertinent.  It was wonderful!

·         Workshops covered issues as diverse as exploring conflict in film, to training for PPRC's, to information about Skype, Oovoo and DimDim (whatever that is!).

·         The food was plentiful and tasty - the beds were so-so.  

·         We recognized authorized ministers who are new to Iowa, who have retired, and who have gone to their eternal reward.

·         We also did some business - electing new members to the Board of Director, adopting conference compensation guidelines and approving amendments to the constitution and bylaws of the United Church of Christ.

During business a motion was offered to direct the Conference Board to apportion income from the new Carstensen endowment between the national settings of the United Church of Christ and ministries of the Iowa Conference according to the same sharing ratio used for basic OCWM from the churches.  By a split vote, this motion was tabled.  The sentiment expressed in the motion is a valuable one and the Board of Directors will engage its substance in the coming months and report back to the conference in the future.

Opinions vary widely about the value of meetings like this.  Most of those present offered significant praise in their post meeting evaluations.  But many more of our fellow members and colleagues chose not to attend.  There are many reasons why one might not attend such a meeting.  Lacking specific input, it's hard to know what non-attendance means.  I'd be grateful if you'd complete a short questionnaire for those who didn't attend the meeting.  It can be anonymous, if you'd prefer.

Thanks!

Rich Pleva,

Conference Minister

Christian Education will be offered August 20-21 and October 1-2.  This class is required for both CENTER and LEARN.  Please contact Lee Hood at the Conference Office to register.  More details are available on the Iowa Conference website.

"Igniting Leadership" series with Paul Nixon, author of I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church. 9 AM, Radisson Hotel Cleveland - Gateway, 651 Huron Road At only $100, this full-day conference is 90% off the cost of an individual consultation with Paul Nixon, and includes both the conference materials and lunch! For those needing to stay the day before or day after the event, we have a block of hotel rooms reserved at the Radisson Hotel Gateway at a special UCC price! All lodging and travel must be arranged by the individual.

Contact: Aimee Jannsohn at 216-736-3761 or by email.
Registration Deadline: Friday, August 6th

Faith Formation through the Generations
A workshop with Carol Wilson, United Church Education Consultant
Saturday Aug. 28, 2010 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(with an optional networking gathering on Friday evening, Aug. 27, 2010)
United Church of Christ-Congregational, 6th & Kellogg, Ames.

Cost: TBA

Are you struggling to figure out what to do with smaller numbers of young people in your church? Are you considering a "one-room" Sunday School approach that brings a wide age span together? Carol Wilson, a United Church Education Consultant, will show us the rich opportunities for learning in intergenerational approaches to faith formation and Christian education. She will also introduce us to Faith Practices, a new project of the United Church of Christ which will provide resources for worship, learning, and serving, on 24 faith practices. Arrive on Friday for a social gathering that will help you meet other youth leaders and Christian educators from across the conference!

The new position job description of Minister for Youth Advocacy and Leadership Formation in Local Church Ministries has been posted to receive applications by July 30, 2010.

Here is the link to the job description.

The purpose of this position is to support and coordinate the work with youth (age 13-18) and youth leaders across the life of the United Church of Christ. The Minister will be based in the Cleveland Office, but work closely and collaboratively with regional colleagues, national staff, conferences, associations and other settings relating to youth, hosting and supporting common work with conference calling, online technology and in person as needed.

The Iowa Conference office of the United Church of Christ is seeking a professional office manager to perform executive assistant, office administration and communications functions at our Des Moines location.  Email resume to judy@ucciaconf.org prior to July 20.